Shadowland
by Dixxy
Summary: What would happen if one of the MBC lost something apparently secondary, but which paradoxally proved vital ? They might need outter help to bring it back from another world... before it's too late ! Race against Time has begun... Dedicated to BeachBabe123, Blood-of-Silver & Katie Minnie ! N'JOY !
1. Foreword

**SHADOWLAND**

**/ FOREWORD**

**Hello Folks !**

**I'm back (with a revenge) ! And looking forward to writing this new stuff, which I evidently hope you will appreciate ! **

**This time, the story will be an adventure one. I like the idea of changing styles : adventure, love story, adventure again, and soon drama. That's what we call a "jack of all trades". Then again, monotony and routine are sooooo boring, right ? ;)**

**Like every time, I will dedicate this story, and this one, to no less than three users :**

**BEACHBABE123 / BLOOD-OF-SILVER / KATIE MINNIE **

**These three authors have written the stories I prefer on FanFiction, and I would like to seize the occasion to express them my gratitude :**

** BEACHBABE123 : dear, your really are the queen of stories on FF ! I'm a great supporter of yours, and am delighted to read each new chapter of yours ! Among the people whose presence on FF is an honour, there is you, notably ! Thanks for all your fictions, which I all love (my favourite may be HAUNTED) and please… never stop writing MBC stories ! **

** BLOOD-OF-SILVER : Lionness, you rock both as an author AND as a friend ! An awesome person you are, and it's a pleasure to PM you regularly and read from you, like it was a pleasure reading your first MBC story, MBC : POWER UP ! Can't wait for the next one ! Kudos to you ! You are just wonderful ! Thanks for everything !**

** KATIE MINNIE : You only wrote one story, UNKNOWN LOVE, but in my humble opinion, it's some kind of a masterpiece ! No wonder it was once voted BEST MBC STORY on FF ! And like all your fans, I'm more than disappointed that you didn't finished it, leaving it on hiatus since July 2011. And I'm sad I can't PM you anymore (I didn't get _why_ exactly, btw…). A great applause to you too !**

**/**

**And to my other friends :**

** HAHLI NUVA, MASTERMINOR, CHRISTRON4000, CATHYRULZ4EVER :**

**No offence for my not mentioning you as my fav's, I really dig your stuff as well, but the stories I love best really are the one I mentioned previously (except for your lemons, Josh, which are GREAT !) Still, I like reading your stuff a lot and value your work, so don't frown like that ! ;)**

**/ **

**All in all, many shout out's to all of you altogether ! You all are awesome people and it's a delight AND an honor to have you as buddies !**

**Sweetest of thoughts !**

**-Léo-**


	2. 1 park, 2 monsters, 4 fighters

**/ 1 PARK, 2 MONSTERS, 4 FIGHTERS**

"Daniel, are you listening ? "

Danny stopped staring at the girl of his dreams and turned his head to the teacher, blinking.

"Errr… Yes, Sir !"

"Alright, so let's check that : what did I just say ?"

Danny could feel temperature rise inside him. "You… you said… hum, that we would have to… sorry, I didn't hear the end of your sentence !" He felt like drowning into the ground.

Mr Josephson smiled in a benevolent way. "Ah, Daniel… always your head at something else, eh ? Okay, here, I'll explain it again… _just for you_ ! Will you prick up your ears, this time ?"

"Yes, Sir, I will !" Danny said loud and clear.

The boys smirked, the girls giggled, and Danny felt a cloud of shame wrap him as he had to endure all those mocking looks.

The exercise began. Students lined up in front of the parallel bars. While waiting for his turn, the Jock admired _her_ blond hair, _her_ slender silhouette, _her_ thin hands… _she_ was perfection itself !

And when _she_ did the exercise, _she_ moved like a goddess ! Danny couldn't take his eyes off _her_. It seemed to him that after balancing for a while, _she_'d take flight and rise up towards the sun, like the most beautiful…

"_DANNY_ ! Let's wake up now !"

"Y-yes, Sir !" he answered Mr Josephson. He did the exercise quickly and joined the group again to contemplate _her_ on and on. He would never have enough of _her_ lovely face, _her_ cute smile, _her_ splendid eyes… he was in love for good !

/

They were now sitting in the cafeteria, at their usual table, preparing their cutlery, opening their cans and pouring their drinks, chatting and laughing. Cathy was telling a funny story to Sam, and Chris was laughing up his sleeved as he listened to them.

And Danny ? Well, the red fighter wasn't focused, he didn't pay attention, didn't listened to the funny story…he was gazing dreamily at _her_ again, who was engaged in a conversation with her best friend. _Gee, she's soooo gorgeous ! I love how she smiles… how come she didn't get a boyfriend by now, cute as she is ? If only she said yes to me… if only she understood how I love her, how I've been loving her for weeks and weeks and weeks…yeah, if only…_

"Dannyyyyy ! Snap out of iiiiiiit !" the leader exclaimed, snapping her fingers right before his eyes. He jolted and blinked, a surprised stare in his emerald globes.

"Uh, yeah, Sam ? What is it you want ?" he answered in a somewhat lazy tone. This war far less interesting than losing his gaze into _her_, checking out _her_ every movement, attitude, word…

"Well, you've been daydreaming again ! Lost in thought, and in contemplation ! But, Dude, you were looking at the wrong girl : Wendy is that way !" She pointed her chin to the place where the preppy had sat down with her friends and chatted like there would be no tomorrow.

"I know that Cathy and Wendy both are blond, but come on : it's their only similarity ! If you start confusing girls like this, where are you going to end ?" she smirked and winked at him.

Danny didn't get it immediately. "Confusing… girls ?" he repeated, looking at her in puzzlement.

Chris couldn't help answering in place of his African-American friend : "Well, what Sam probably means is that you've been dreamily staring at Cathy instead of Wendy. And that you must be absent-minded as never before to confuse two girls which are very different, having only their blond hair in common. You watched Cathy's hair and imagined it was Wendy's hair, or what ?" And he too smirked.

The spike-haired boy thought for a moment, then finally light shone in his eyes. But what should he answer ? Then he went for the most spontaneous answer : "Yeah… yeah, I guess I was empty-headed enough to observe the wrong girl, simply coz both are blond. Ah ah, that's just me, always dumb as a pot ! Sorry, Cath' !"

She smiled at him. "It's okay, Danny Dan. No big deal ! But you must have your head really far from here, to stare that long at the wrong girl..." She guffawed.

_No, Cath', it's NOT the wrong girl I was staring at. It's the good one, the one I love. Nevermind Wendy anymore. She's not the girl I need. But YOU are ! And I love it when you smile, Cath' ! I love it when you talk ! I love it when you burst out laughing ! I love it when you stretch your arms or do other alien things ! Cathy, please… love me back !_

/

"Beep Beep !"

The V-com made its tiny voice heard as the "Famous Four" were enjoying a relaxing moment by the side of the basketball ground.

Chris was the quickest one at pulling up the sleeve. "Alien in the park !" he quickly whispered, looking up at the details of the signal.

"Leeeeet's bust them !" Sam exclaimed.

And with that, they all ran to the main building, up the stairs, in their lockers, down to their ships and on to the park. It took them only four minutes to be on the spot, and once they arrived, they started looking around carefully, narrowing their eyes.

But nothing unusual was there. There were only few people, wandering here and there, and two kids playing football in the distance. No semblance of an alien anywhere.

"Where the heck is that monster ?" asked Danny, to no one in particular.

"Maybe it's trying to trick us under a fake human disguise…" Cathy replied.

Chris took out the A-Scan and started checking the surroundings, until…

"There ! It's very close now, up that mound over there." he shouted, pointing at a tiny hill close-by.

Sam's look sharpened and threw an energetic spark. "Come on, we'll get it !" And she started for the place, followed close by Danny, Cathy on his heels, Chris bringing up the rear.

On the mound was an old oak tree, of an impressive height and width. The kind of tree that would enable anyone to hide behind. Anyone or _anything_…

"It comes from that tree" Chris let out. They all took their weapons out.

The gang now all had their eyes on the tree, and their blasters were pointing at the antic trunk. Seconds went by, slowly. A gentle breeze started to blow, moving slowly their hair. They almost didn't blink anymore, keeping their eyes wide open.

A faint noise.

And then, from behind the tree, a creepy creature came out. Its general aspect reminded of a dragon, but with a mix of insect in it, notably because of the many legs stemming from each side of its body and the long antennas on the top of its skull.

"Oh my God ! How horrible !" Cathy said in a shaking voice.

Danny immediately cast his eye on the side and noticed that the alien girl made a scared face. She really seemed to be dead frightened by the look of that hideous monster. So the red member thought it necessary to comfort her. He didn't like to see her uneasy or afraid, because he cared so much for her…

"Hey, don't you worry about a thing, Cath'. We're gonna kick the butt of that slimmy dude in no time. I'll take care of that ! Don't be scared, it'll be alright in a flash !"

She swiftly turned her blue eyes at him, gave a grateful smile and said : "Thanks, Dan' ! I'm sure you're gonna bust it in a wink !"

The next moment, the Jock started firing frantically at the creature. Sam followed, soon imitated by the other two. They were aiming accurately, but alas, the half-dragon half-insect, despite its huge size, showed much quickness in dodging the blasts following its moves. Each time the blasters were moving quickly in direction of the alien, the latter jumped or crawled elsewhere in no time, and although the four of them did their best to follow, it seemed that they wouldn't stand a chance facing such a speedy adversary.

They were so busy fighting the hybrid critter that they didn't notice a movement nearby, under the bench they were standing beside. A dark shadow cropped up from behind the foot of the bench. It was a big black crawling creature, which roughly looked like a slug, with a white globe in the middle of the head (or what _seemed_ to be its head, as it was difficult to know given that the whole body was shapeless and didn't look like any known creature ever).

The black blob turned his white globe towards each of the MBC fighters in turn, taking time to analyze the datas its hypersensitive organ was providing him. And once it had finished, it took a time off, then started to slither silently in the direction of…

"Cathy, be careful !" Sam said as the dragon-insect alien sent a purple spurt of goo right at the Rhapsodian. The latter dodged it from a side jump, then evolved her weapon into the Double X and took back to firing.

Danny suddenly had an idea. He stopped shooting and started for the opposite side of the battle place.

"But where is he heading to ?" Chris said aloud while casting a swift glance at his teammate and back to the monster, as any moment of concentration loss could be fatal.

Sam, who had seen the Jock leaving out of the corner of her eye, answered him while taking out the Blue Shift blaster and aiming it at the huge silhouette continuously moving to counter the MBC attacks : "He probably has got his own plan. I guess he's thinking of attacking our foe from the rear, from that grove behind it."

They all kept on shooting fiercely, unaware that the black blob was almost there, gradually crawling its way to the human group.

The three members then spotted the fourth one taking his head out from behind a tree, in the back of the hybrid being. The tip of the vacuvator could be seen emerging from above his spiky hair.

"Hey, did you see where Dan' is ?" Cathy asked.

"Yeah, he's gonna get it from the back ! Just what I expected !" Sam stated. "All we have to do is keep on blasting that monster to distract him and thus enable Danny to make his move. Come on, Team !"

The blob came to a standstill, and raised what supposedly was its head. A hole formed inside of his dark mass.

Danny pointed his vacuvator at the incessantly jumping alien and fired. The noise of the device going off made the extraterrestrial turn its head to the red member, but it was already too late. The blue ray caught it right then and dragged it towards the vacuvator, inside it, up in the green glass container, which was to remain his prison before being transferred to the galactic one.

The black slug pointed its hole towards one of the teammembers and a little noise could be heard. Something was attracted to the slimmy alien and disappeared inside the hole. Then the slug turned around and started slowly slipping back to the bench.

"GOTCHA !" the braggart yelled as the now tiny hybrid was floating in the liquid of the green container. "What did I tell you, Cath' ? No big deal, right ?"

The blond nodded with a grin. "I didn't doubt you'd get that horrid beast. Congrat's, Dan' ! You're the best !"

The scarred boy smirked with a complacent smile to Sam, who shook her head from side to side and rolled her golden eyes up to the sky.

The dark slimmy monster disappeared behind the bench, inside a hole it had dug up in the first place. The hole closed up by itself, leaving no trace at all.

"Ok Team, we're done here ! Good job everyone… and especially _you_, of course, Offshower !" the black girl let out with a joshing smile.

"Offshower" showed all his teeth from smiling so broad, and this made Cathy giggle and Chris laugh up his sleeve.

The tech cast a glance around. "Do we go back to school now ?"

The leader looked at him and nodded. "Yes, we do. And we better get a move on, if we don't want to be late for the science class, right ?"

They all got back to the sewers' entrance, in their ships, back to their lockers and straight in the science classroom.

/

The rest of the day went fine, and when evening came, they were all pretty pleased with their day. It had been a good one, especially because of the results of their science test, for which everyone had got good grades… including Danny, for once !

They had a chinese dinner and watched a thriller that Danny had brought home. And they found it very catchy, almost jolting during some sequences in which tension was almost palpable.

They all said good night to each other and made it to their respective bedrooms. Time had come for a well-deserved rest.

But that evening, one of the team members didn't feel so well : dizzy, almost queasy, and that for apparently no particular reason. That member had difficulty to fall asleep, and got terrible nightmares in which death was lurking and fate left no way out but the worst one…

/

/

**So what do you think of that first chapter, uh ? Does that sound good ? And what do you think happened with that black slug ? And who do you think is feeling bad ?**

**I'm waiting for your reactions. Thanks in advance !**

**And I'll do my best to write next chappy asap. Stay tuned and till… very soon ! ;)**


	3. The loss

**Howdy Folks ! There comes next chapter, in which we'll see who was the member who spend such a bad night. And what effects it could have on that person. Could it be something serious ? Read and find out !**

**Also, Big Up to Blood-of-Silver for her very kind review ! Did I say you ROCK ? P**

**Anyway, Folks, N'joy !**

**/**

**2 _ THE LOSS**

When Danny walked into the kitchen that morning, he seemed weary and had rings under his eyes. It was easy to guess his night hadn't been fantastic.

"Ohooo, you don't look too good this morning, Danny. Difficulty to sleep ? Or nightmares ?"

The Jock sat down heavily on a chair and gave a tired look to his black friend. "Well, I slept real bad. Found it hard to fall asleep, then many frightening nightmares, you know. Really dreadful, I swear ! I wish never to have such nightmares again !"

"You had nightmares as well ?" a voice questioned in his back.

The macho boy turned around and his green globes met up with blue ones. But the young alien's look was a tired one too. He wasn't the only one to have spent a bad night. Danny felt really sorry to see his secret love looking that jaded. The usually bubbly girl now appeared so bushed that it broke his heart. _Oh, my poor darling ! How terrible you look !_

"Gee, you look so tired, Cath'. Did you have an awful night, like me ?"

The Rhapsodian sat down wearily and watched him in the eye. "Yeah, I guess awful is the word. It was not easy to fall asleep, and I also had nightmares, and they were… brrrr, horrible ! It's kinda strange we had the same sleeping problem the same night, and both scary nightmares… don't you think ?"

She tried a smile, but it was a pooped one, with eyes half closed. Danny felt so sorry to see the girl of his dreams that tired. She obviously hadn't slept much. He gave her his most encouraging smile, to cheer her up.

"C'mon, Cath', be brave ! We're both tired but need to face another day before we can actually rest, this weekend. It'll be hard to make it with so little sleep, but I'm sure we can. I've got your back, Girl !" His grinned stretched bigger.

She sniggered gently. "Yeah, let's do our best, right !"

Sam patted her back. "Look, Cathy, if you don't feel that great, you can still stay here, and we'll tell the teacher that you felt sick or so. It's no big deal. What do you think ?"

But her extraterrestrial friend shook her head negatively. "No no, I'll be alright, sure. But in order to shake myself awake, I'll sure need a cup of coffee…"

Sam bit her lower lip, her eyes betraying her anxiety. "You sure ?"

Cathy grinned in a reassuring way. "Yeah, sure. Come on, let's have breakfast."

The leader turned to Danny, who was yawning almost to the point of breaking his jaw. "What about you, Dan' ? Will you be alright ? I know you didn't say much, but I can tell you're pretty exhausted as well."

Her buddy smiled. "Na, don't worry about a thing, Baby ! The Danny will be fine ! " And he made the V sign.

She looked at him, her eyes lingering on the rings under his eyes, then she sighed and concluded : "Okay then. As long as you both feel good enough for school. But should any of you –"

"Yeah yeah, we know : we can go home and you'll excuse us to the teacher ! Thank you, Mommy !" he cut in a teasing tone.

Sam frowned. "I mean it, Danny. Don't joke with health !"

He suddenly seemed sheepish. "Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. It's okay, we'll tell you if something isn't right. Happy now ?"

The brunette watched him sternly. "I will be happy _**only**_ if all my friends are fine".

Silence fell on this. Then, after a while, all started to help themselves for breakfast.

/

Sam wrote down what the teacher had just written on the black board, then she took a while to read it again, to understand every word of it. Yes, it was clear to her. Kind of complex, but it still made sense for her.

Pleased to get the whole thing, she raised her eyes again and waited for the teacher to go on with the next line. Then her gaze turned to Chris, who also was looking at Mr Brandenburg, patiently waiting. _Aaaawww, he looks so cute when he's focusing like that ! I wish he was staring at me this focused…_

She felt herself blushing at the thought, but observed him on for a moment. Then her eyes set on Danny, who was playing with his pen. He seemed to be so bored… Sam smiled at this. She knew her friend by heart, and it was clear to her that he didn't like history at all. He likely would have given anything to be playing basketball right now.

The black girl then turned her head to the left and got a shock. Cathy was there, next desk, and her attitude was an alarming one. She was looking at the teacher as well, but her eyes were half closed and it seemed probable she would soon close them. The young alien was knackered, no doubt, and it was obvious she was making a visible effort to remain alert.

Her eyes closed, then she opened them wide immediately and kept them goggled to prevent sleep to come back, but it always did, her eyes started to close again, then she opened them at once and kept them that way, until once again…

Sam observed Cathy for a moment, and was about to whisper something to her, when the blonde finally rested her head on the desk, in the nest of her arms, and let her eyes closed for good.

The yellow member frowned. What could be tiring Cathy up like that ? Was it only her lack of sleep from the previous night ? Or some sickness on the way ? Sam really didn't like it, and mentally prayed for the teacher not to notice her asleep friend.

Fortunately, the bell went off and the room immediately filled with numerous noises, as the students were eager to go for lunch and forget about all those things from the past. And in the middle of the turmoil, Cathy woke up and blinked, slowly, wearily, and even that simple action seemed effort-consuming.

Sam definitely didn't like it. There had to be something going on…

/

"I'm okay, Sam. Just a bit tired from that night, that's all. But I'm fine, you know."

"Cathy, you just looked exhausted this morning. I've never seen you that down, physically speaking. You even slept on your desk. Come on, Cath' ! You're not good, it's evident !"

Chris decided to intervene : "You know, Cathy, if you really feel that pooped, I suggest you took the afternoon off, to rest home. There's no point in you insisting to remain with us if it costs you that much energy to stay awake."

Danny looked very worriedly at his secret beloved. He was feeling better, after that terrible night, and tiredness had left him, but he could tell it wasn't the same thing for his favourite alien. She still looked whacked, and he was most anxious about her actual state.

"Chris is right, Cath' !" the Jock stated. "You look terrible, you know !" _So sorry to have to tell you this, my Cathy, but it's true : you have an awful face today ! _"You really should go get some rest. You say it's fine, but you're often eyes half closed, and it's not good. Please listen to me and do it !" _Please, my Love, follow my advice : I care so much for you, so much… I want you in good condition ! I want you happy ! Oh, my Cathy, I'm so sad to see you like this !_

The Rhapsodian took a look at each of her friends in turn, then sighed. "No, friends, I'll be okay, really. I start to feel better now. I swear I do. Believe me, it'll be all good. If I think I can't make it, then I'll do as you say and get home. But for now, I feel strength returning."

The brunette bit her lower lip, then asked : "Are you sure ? Do you think you can attend this afternoon's lessons ? Answer me honestly !"

Cathy smiled in a reassuring way. "Yeah, I'm starting to feel less tired now. I'm sure it will be okay. Trust me, guys !"

The green-eyed boy raised his finger and said sternly : "Promise us that if you really feel too tired, you'll tell the teacher and ask permission to go home !"

The stretchable girl smiled in a way that melted Danny's heart again, and said : "Ok, I promise you I will. Thank you for your concern, Dan' ! Thank you _all_, actually !"

And she grinned again. They all smiled back, but behind the smiles, there was worry...

/

The afternoon went indeed better for Cathy Smith. She had told her friends that she was feeling better, and she indeed was. Her extreme tiredness of the morning seemed to have vanished, and although she wasn't back in top form, she still could see that her body had gained on energy, and this was encouraging.

Therefore, when they got out from school, everything seemed to be just fine. Worries apparently had got cleared away, and no new source of preoccupation was in sight. They were all chatting in a lively way, laughing a few times…

…when the pink member started to wince. She could feel a pain in her head, and a rather acute one. She put her hand to her forehead.

"Cath', what's wrong ?" Danny immediately asked. One could sense anxiety in his tone. He didn't like it. Everything had been getting better until this moment. What was this new bummer ? _Oh no, please…not again ! Oh, Cathy, my poor Cathy…_

"I… I don't know. It hurts deep inside. And the pain is growing bigger. Ooooooh, my God ! It's really getting so painful now !"

Sam put her hand on her friend's shoulder. "Come, Cathy. You should sit for a while. Here, on this bench." She helped the blonde girl to sit down and watched her with increasing anguish. "Are you feeling any better now ?"

Cathy had her head between her hands and her eyes closed, still wincing from the now less acute ache. "Ooooooh… it's… it's getting… a tad better… but it's still difficult to bear… ooooh…. Why do I have this ?"

"Calm down, Cathy, calm down !" Danny said. "You mustn't talk. It will cost you efforts." He was suffering from seeing her that hurt. It was his _love_ who was there, experiencing so much pain. His own heart was hurting him as he witnessed this worrying event taking place. "Please be quiet and rest ! It will improve soon, I'm sure." But he wasn't sure…

After a moment, though, Cathy felt the pain diminishing a bit, then slowly vanishing, until there was no trace left of her previous ache. "I don't feel anything. It's over. No more pain. Gee, I thought it would never disappear…"

Danny felt his heart get lighter, pain having left it for good. "Oh, I'm so happy ! I'm sure it was nothing serious. Be confident, Cath' !"

Chris smiled to her. "Yeah, Dan's right. You have to be confident. It's probably a temporary headache, no more. We'll see what happens, but it may well be dealt away with !"

The pink member made an hesitant grin. Then she got up and focused on her body.

No, it seemed better now. Nothing nefarious anymore. It was gone. But what was it that had made her suffer this intense ? What could it be ?

"I'm alright now" she stated.

"Good" Sam replied. "I'm glad to hear that. If you're okay, then we can move on. Ready, guys ?"

"Yup, ready !" said a wide-smiling Danny. He was so happy to see Cathy fit again !

They all got up and started to walk. The Jock asked his alien friend whether she was sure that everything was alright, and she answered that it was, indeed. The alert was over.

They walked on for a moment, looking at the beautiful spring landscape around them, and how the sun made it so pleasing. Birds were flying everywhere and sang non-stop. And all those flowers on the trees, in the bushes. It was just magnificent !

Chris saw two birds that were flying after one another, chirping all the way. They landed short before them and he watched as they made their own romantic dance. It was cute. The tech could also take time to observe nature, despite his love of machines. And this little animal show here was really funny !

The group was now nearing the birds, which then flew away. Chris watched them take off and smiled to himself, lowering his eyes back to the ground. Something caught his attention and he started watching it. Then he turned his head a tad to the right...

His eyes opened wide and he felt his voice stuck in his throat. He felt like screaming, but yet couldn't utter a sound. He just couldn't believe what he was seeing.

The brunette happened to be giving him a look in that moment, a smile on her lips. But that smile vanished when she noticed the expression of her beloved. He had a fixed stare that showed horror. So she followed the direction of his gaze and…

And she opened her mouth in disbelief. Her eyes goggled like they seldom did. An icy fist closed over her heart. _No ! No, it can't be true ! It just can't be ! Oh God, what's happening ?_

"Cathy…" The leader's voice was trembling, her throat as dry as the desert, her heart pounding painfully in her ribcage.

Danny and Cathy turned their heads simultaneously towards Sam. "Hey Sam, what-" but he stopped immediately when he saw the fixed look of his friend, a look of utter terror. His eyes followed where Sam's were aiming at and he got shocked as well. Cathy did the same, and she understood why all of her teammates were that taken aback.

As they walked on the pavement, they shadows preceded them, the sun making them longer now. But the problem was that, where they should have been four shadows, there was only _**three**_ ! And the missing shadow was…

"Cathy's shadow ! WHERE is it ?" Danny yelled, ghastliness flowing from his voice.

Chris finally managed to let out the words : "What happened with your shadow, Cath' ?"

Sam felt cold sweat damp her back. It was a living nightmare ! "We have to be dreaming !

It can't be real ! It just can't ! Someone or something is trying to trick us !"

Cathy was the only one not speaking. She was staring intently at the place where her shadow should have been, and where there was a sunny space. As incredible as it seemed, her three friends had their shadows just beside, but there was a gap of sun in the middle. As if she wasn't there. As if she _didn't exist_...

She felt so hot in this very minute. It had nothing to do with the sun. A drop of sweat slowly rolled down her temple and followed the back of her cheek until it reached her jaw. Another drop followed and arrived exactly where the first one was. The sweat fell on the ground… on the ground where Cathy's shadow was absent…

Cathy turned to look at her buddies, but when she moved her head, it seemed to her that the landscape was revolving fast. She moved her head back and the buildings and trees shifted quickly before her eyes. She closed her eyes for a while and opened them again, then directed her gaze at her friends again. But once again, things were moving very swiftly around her. She was clearly dizzy and the best would be to lean against a tree, or even sit down somewhere.

She opened her mouth to say something… and the world turned madly for her, then got all upside down in a flash !

Danny, Sam and Chris, petrified by horror, saw their best friend collapse without a sound. They all hurried and gathered around the now fainted figure. Their hearts were beating like they never had been, racing furiously inside their chests. What was happening was completely unexpected and utterly alarming !

"OH NO ! CATHY ! CATHY ! PLEASE, WAKE UP ! WAKE UP !"

Sam put her hand on Danny's shoulder but he turned at once to her, as if her hand was electrified. "Do something, Sam ! She has fainted ! You MUST know what to do ! You always DO !"

Sam caught his eyes, and although she was dead worried herself, she tried to make her tone as calm as she could : "Danny, I know that you feel lick panicking, and honestly, I do as well, this time ! But we must calm down and take care of Cathy ! It won't help at all if we let our fears get in the way !"

"Do we carry her home or to the medical center ?" Chris asked. Both were close from the place they were.

"Let's go home !" the leader decided. "Maybe Mr Smith will be able to help us. He may know what happened to Cathy. Perhaps it's alien-related. It would be best to have his opinion first."

"I'll carry her !" Danny said. His heart was a mix of anguish, sadness and anger. He would take care of his love. He would help her up. He would do _**anything**_ for her !

The athletic boy delicately took the weak body in his arms and the group walked away as quickly as possible.

/

"Mr Smith ! Mr Smith !" Sam screamed as they were getting inside the house.

The old Rhapsodian walked out of the kitchen. He spotted his fainted granddaughter in Danny's arms and ran to them.

"What happened ?" he asked in a rushed voice.

"Cathy's shadow vanished !" Samantha said quickly, looking intensely at him.

"WHAT ?" the old man shouted.

"She lost her shadow" Chris said in different terms.

"And then she fainted !" Danny completed. "Oh please tell us you can do something, Mr Smith !"

The elder's face got paler and he was silent for a moment. Then he repeated what had been told to him : "She lost her shadow..."

They were staring at him, waiting for him to say what could be done. But he kept silent again and a single tear ran down his cheek.

"Mr Smith..." Sam hesitantly let out.

He raised his eyes to her and watched her sternly, then Danny and Chris, and he finally spoke up : "Sam, Danny, Chris... this is much more serious than you think... yes, much more..."

And from the way he was looking at them, they could deduce that they were now engaged in something no less than crucial... if not vital !

/

/

**How was this one ? Did you enjoy it ? Well, maybe "enjoy" may not be the right word for such a dark chapter... Anyway, I'd love to hear what you think via reviews or PM's ! Come on, tell me ! **


	4. Explanations and Help

**Waow, what awesome reviews I got last time, for ch. 1 and 2 ! Thanxxxx a lot to all of you, BB123, Bos and CT4000 ! You really made my day back then ! And I do hope you'll enjoy this chapter enough to leave me nice comments again !**

**Also, thanxxxx to the max for writing on your own stories, for which I always stay tuned ! And I can't wait for more from you all !**

**And now, why don't we go on with the explanatory part, eh ?**

**N'joy ! (and review…)**

**/**

**3 _ EXPLANATIONS AND HELP**

**/**

Cathy was now lying in a bed, with her eyes closed. Hugo Smith was sitting by her side, checking the rhythm of her pulse. He left his fingers on the side of his granddaughter's neck for a moment, then took them off and watched his relative with concern.

"So, Mr Smith ?" Danny asked in an urging tone.

The Rhapsodian turned to face him. "Her heartbeats have slowed down. Her breathing is deeper now. She is not to wake up before long. Actually, she won't until she gets her shadow back…"

It was Sam's turn to speak : "But what happened with her shadow ? How and when did it disappear ? I mean, we didn't notice anything before this afternoon. It's true that a shadow is definitely not something to pay attention to, but still…"

The white-haired man took a deep breath and began explaining : "I can think of only one reason why an alien could lose his/her shadow : it's in case it has been stolen by another alien. There is a tribe of monsters which are known for "rustling" shadows of other aliens. It's the tribe of the Howlers. They are called this because they howl when they want to give alarm, in case an enemy has been detected. They used to live on the Dark Planet, but their leader, Hathho, got defeated two centuries ago and those monsters had all been destroyed at the time. Therefore, I'm surprised that an Howler could have done this, but honestly, I don't know any other reason why an alien's shadow would vanish."

"So you think that it would be one of these… Howlers to have sucked up Cathy's shadow ?" Chris asked.

"Yes, possibly. Or even, probably. But I have no clue when that could have happened. Yet, since she had a bad night, I assume that's related, for the victim always starts feeling physically bad less than twelve hours after being attacked. And since Cathy was still alright two days ago, it means that the Howler got her shadow yesterday."

"But how could that happen ?" Danny phrased, expressing aloud their common wondering. "I mean, we were with her all the time, weren't we, and nothing special took place. Cathy was behaving just like usual."

The old alien got thinking. "Are you sure that nothing out of ordinary occurred ? Please try to remember again carefully !"

"Mmmmmh, not that I can recall…" Chris answered.

"Me neither" Sam added. "We fought an alien in the park and that was it. No atypical event. I really wonder _when_ that could have happened…"

Danny decided to go for the pragmatic way : "Anyway, what do we do next, Mr Smith ? How can we give Cathy her shadow back ? Where do we have to go and what do we have to do ? It's urgent we do something quickly !" His hard stare let know of his determination.

Hugo Smith gathered his memories regarding Howlers and, after a moment of pondering, he went on explaining : "The only way I can think of would be to journey to the Dark Planet and release Cathy's shadow from the place it's imprisoned in. And alas for you, it's a very dangerous expedition, as that planet is known as one of the most hazardous ones of the galaxy. I really wished you didn't have to go there, but rather on any _other_ planet…"

"Well, the way you speak of it, we're going to have a rough time with this journey…" Chris commented. "But we would do anything for Cathy !"

"Yeah, anything !" Danny energetically exclaimed.

In this moment, Cathy started to moan and moved about under the blanket. They all turned to her. She winced and frowned, and let out new moans, louder this time, then moved again restlessly.

"What's the matter, Mr Smith ?" Sam asked. "It looks as if she was having nightmares."

"Well, you see, the victims of the Howlers fall into a state of apparent sleep, but in which they often get horrible visions. It's related to the loss of the shadow. I'm sorry, but I can't explain exactly why…"

"It's strange that such a secondary element as a shadow could generate so much pain and such serious consequences" Chris remarked.

The old man gazed firmly at him. "The thing is that shadows have much more importance for us aliens than for you humans. That is, we can't live without it, while you maybe could go on living if you lost it. So, with respect to this, finding Cathy's shadow and bringing it back to her in time will be _**vital**_. It's a matter of life or death !"

Danny felt his temperature sink all of a sudden. "You… you said… life or _death_ ?"

The elder nodded. "Yes, indeed. It's most serious. If we can't attach the shadow back to its body quickly, then… she will die." He made a visible effort not to let emotion overwhelm him and make him shed tears. "I will show you something. Come here."

They all followed him to the foot of the bed. The white-haired man pulled the blanket and sheet up, took out his granddaughter's leg and let them watch.

At first, they wondered what they should be looking at, then they spotted some small black area stretching on the tops of all toes.

"What… what's that ?" Danny almost shouted.

"It's called "the black veil". It's a kind of parasite that takes gradually hold of the victim's body after disappearance of the shadow. It will spread on the feet, then the legs, the belly, the chest, the arms and finally the head. And when the last hair has turned completely black, the person will pass away. We have to do quick, as we probably haven't more than a few days, maybe two or three, at best four. It spreads very fast. We aliens can't remain very long without our shadows, unlike humans."

The three team members were staring at the black area on Cathy's foot, they felt deeply upset about it and were suddenly scared than this loss of shadow had such terrible consequences.

Sam spoke in a decided tone : "So Mr Smith, where is located the Dark Planet and how do we get there ?"

The old alien turned his gaze at her : "I know exactly who I need to help us. It's an old friend of mine, who comes from a planet next to Rhapsodia. She has powers who enable her to use interdimensional passages in order to reach a place directly, without travelling there. So she will be able to open a spatial breach for you to step immediately on the Dark Planet. This way, you'll gain a lot of time, and we can't afford lose too much time…"

/

It was late when the sound of a motor was heard outside the Smith house. A door was slammed and light footsteps came up to the house. A discrete knock broke the silence in which the house was wrapped.

Hugo Smith went for the door, opened. A brief conversation was heard, in a language none of the MBC members knew. Then footsteps reached the lounge and an elderly woman appeared by the Rhapsodian's side.

"Guys, let me introduce you to Katie, from planet Minnie. She has great powers that I personally wish I could master. Katie, here is Christopher, that is Samantha and upstairs is Daniel, looking after Cathy, my granddaughter."

The lady walked to the yellow member and shook her hand, then did the same with the blue member.

"Pleased to know you" the stranger said. She was very pale and seemed to have slanting eyes, which was unusual for a Western female. "May I see Cathy, Hugo ? I need to know all there is to, so we can work on an efficient and swift basis." Her voice was very calm and almost "soft", her tone naturally comforting, soothing.

The old Rhapsodian led the way upstairs, the lady on his heels, the MBC members bringing up the rear. They soon reached the room where poor Cathy was lying unconscious.

Once they were all in, Mr Smith addressed the red member : "Danny, this is a friend of mine, Katie. Katie, here is Daniel, or Danny for his friends."

The young boy was taken aback : "Your… your name is… Katie ?"

"Yes, I know what you're thinking, Daniel : it sounds like your friend's name, Cathy. You pronounce it the same, but the spelling is different. Sorry if you felt shocked about that similarity."

"It's okay" he replied. "Can you do something for Cathy, please ? It's her life that is at stake" He turned to look at his now weakened love.

The elderly woman walked to the bed and stared at the young Rhapsodian, who now had ceased moaning, but had started sweating. She lay her hand above Cathy's forehead and an blue aura glowed around it. She focused silently and frowned as she understood what had happened and how Cathy was feeling now. It was serious, no doubt.

Katie finally turned around, watched the teenagers' faces, then stopped on Mr Smith. Her look was extremely stern. "Your granddaughter has been attacked by a Howler, Hugo. It was yesterday, most probably in the beginning of the afternoon."

Chris's eyes goggled. "Wait ! Wasn't there when we were fighting that hybrid alien in the park ? Yes, it must have been, since it was right before the resumption of the lessons. But when did that monster attack Cathy ? We didn't see any other monster than the one we were actually trying to bust. And Cathy hasn't been mugged at any time, otherwise we would have seen, or if not, she would have told us. I don't get it…"

Katie continued : "The Howlers are known for sucking away alien shadows, and often doing it by approaching their prey from behind, sneaking from under some bush or so. So there's a good chance that the Howler who stole Cathy's shadow was hidden behind a tree, under a bench, behind a stone or so. And it got close to Cathy while you were all focusing on the other monster to fight, and dragged her shadow away without you noticing it."

Sam was thinking. At last, she expressed her opinion : "Yes, I guess there's a chance it might have happened this way. All the more since nothing particular occurred that day apart from that monster busting. These Howlers really are dangerous creatures…"

"More than you think !" the pale lady replied. "And now, from the informations I gathered by scanning the body of Cathy, she has begun to sweat and the black veil has started covering her feet. Also, her pulse sank down to 20 bpm, which is really low, and her breathing rhythm is as low as snakes, that is very slow. It's very preoccupying, and foretells of serious physical complication. We must absolutely restore the shadow back to its body, as quickly as we can, otherwise there's not a single chance Cathy can live on. I'm sorry to have to tell you all those bad news, but I will never hide the truth, however dark it is. Never !"

"No, you're right !" the brunette said. "We need to know the truth, even if it's terrible. We must be aware of the danger, and of all its parameters. The questions now are : how exactly do we get her shadow back and how much time do we have at hand for this ?"

Katie took a deep breath and watched Mr Smith. The latter caught her glimpse and understood it. "They will need to journey to the Dark Planet, right ?" She nodded and pursued : "The Howlers were supposedly extinguished, but when they were still an active specie, they lived on that planet. I guess they were some specimen left alive and they reproduced. Also, they used to be obeying the orders of Hathho, a dark lord who ruled that planet in a most nefarious way, seeking to steal as many shadows as possible in order to augment his power. He was thought to have been defeated, but we never actually had the definitive proof of that, so he may be back or someone may have taken his place and now ruling on Howlers. Nobody is aware of a possible line of descent for Hathho, so it's probably not a child of his, more likely another dark raiser."

"How will we travel to the Dark Planet ? Mr Smith told us that you could help us to get there quickly." Chris told her.

"Yes, I will enable you to be on that planet faster than you ever could otherwise. You will need to seek for help in a village where the last Light people had gathered long ago. I have recently heard that they were still in that village, and that the queen ruling the village hasn't taken power back to make it Light planet instead of Dark planet. That's why I have been suspecting, for a moment now, that something may be going on on that planet."

Danny quickly intervened : "And how much time do we have to rescue Cathy ?" He couldn't wait any longer, for every minute that passed was a minute lost. They had to do quick !

Katie faced him and gazed intensely at him. "According to the informations I retrieved from Cathy's body, you have a bit more than 50 hours. You will need to keep an eye on time, so I will give you this !"

She raised her hand and made a little sign. Silver dust appeared out of the blue, whirling slowly, and followed a twisted aerial way towards Sam. Then it lowered and came twirling above the brunette's wrist, before getting altogether to form… a tiny silver hourglass which floated above the girl's wrist.

"This hourglass will remain hovering above your wrist, Samantha. It contains the exact amount of time remaining for you to bring back your friend's shadow. You can refer to it anytime to know how much time is left before... the end. And I will also give you this, to help you find your way on the Dark Planet."

She reached out to Chris, her hand wide open, palm up. A bubble of energy formed over the palm and once the light had vanished, a tiny brass compass was resting within her hand.

"You will have to keep on heading south, until you find a group of white houses. It is the village of Fic. Once you arrive here, you will have to ask for Her Majesty Lauren. She is the 123rd sovereign of the Beaba's, the People of Light. Only her can help you locate Cathy's shadow, because she has the ability to sense shadows' identities and you certainly won't be able to know, by yourselves, _where_ your friend's shadow is without Lauren's help."

Danny took a step forward. "Madam, thank you so very much for your help ! We owe you a lot ! And without you, we would barely be able to make it !"

Katie watched him benevolently. "You are welcome, Daniel. That's the least I could do for you. I always do anything I can to help people, because I have the power to. It is my pleasure to help you, because you are good people and friends of my long-time friend Hugo."

Mr Smith smiled. "You have all my gratitude, Katie, as always. Your help will me most precious. Thank you so much, my dear !" She nodded and grinned back to him.

The African-American addressed her : "Can you please let us know how you can help us reach the Dark Planet swiftly ? Mr Smith let us know you had a way for that, thanks to your powers…"

"Of course. I will enable you to step directly from Earth onto the Dark Planet by creating an interdimensional passage."

"You can do that ?" Chris asked, baffled.

"Yes, I can, take a step back, please." she told the group. They all did, watching her attentively.

Katie put her both hands flat, horizontally, one on top of another. Then she parted them slowly, one upward, one downward. In this very moment, an elliptic hole opened in the room and kept stretching up and down. It looked like an enormous eye that was gradually opening.

Katie stopped her movement and took her hands down. "You can now cross the limit to find yourselves directly on the Dark Planet."

The MBC took a glance through the interdimensional passage. They saw two white pillars and, in the background only thick shadows, with no lights at all in the distance.

"How dark !" Danny exclaimed.

"Yes, I had forgotten. This will be of great use." Katie then raised a finger, and on top of it, a flame appeared. It then took off and reached the teenagers, stopping beside them, up in the air. "This flame will float above your heads to light up the way. It's not a big one, but trust me, its brilliance is far enough powerful for you to check out all your surroundings at any time. And now, I'll sum it up for you : always walk towards south, looking at the compass, until you come to a white village called Fic. Queen Lauren will help you to locate Cathy's soul and bring it back here. You will need to keep an eye on the hourglass, to estimate how much time remains. Oh, and don't forget one thing : you should _**absolutely**_ avoid to talk too loud in this land, because Howlers have a very developed hearing and could easily locate you."

Chris looked at Katie intensely. "Thank you so much for your help, Madam."

"Oh, call me Katie, please ! And you are welcome. Pleased to help you ! I will stay with Hugo here, to watch after Cathy and make sure she doesn't oversweat or that her pulse doesn't slow down too much. You should go now, because you will need as much time as possible to find Cathy's shadow. I wish you good luck. May your mission have a positive outcome !"

"Thank you again !" Sam said. "And now, Team, let's go save our best friend !"

They all walked to the eye-shaped passage and each in turn stepped over the interdimensional boundary. And soon the three fighters found themselves in a pitch-black place, where the only light around was the flame hovering above their heads.

"Goodbye !" Mr Smith and Katie said in unison, waving their hands. "And remember to speak low !" the elderly lady added.

The huge passage started to close slowly, its sides coming closer to each other. It really looked as if some gigantic eye was closing to sleep. This alas brought back the memory of Cathy, lying eyes closed and weak in her bed, risking her life...

The two sides of the hole merged, leaving an horizontal golden line which soon diminished, getting shorter and shorter, until it reached the size of a dot... then vanished away.

They now were all alone on what seemed to be an hostile planet, ignoring all of the dangers that could be waiting for them, and with an urgent mission to carry out successfully, at _any_ cost !

Race against Time had begun !

**/**

**Ok, I know there was a lot of bla-bla and not much action in this one, but I really needed to clear up things, bring up explanations and mission's outline, so there just had to be much dialog going on.**

**But now, my Friends... now begins the real action plot ! Get ready for the core of the adventure ! It's gonna be catchy ! ;)**

**I hope to update asap, but in the mean time... please review or PM ! And once again, thanxxxx for all the previous kind reviews ! You are amazing, Friends !**


	5. A breathless chase

**Greetings, Pals ! **

**I owe you tons of _thank you_'s for the VERY nice reviews I received ! You really made my days, guys ! All my gratitude to Lauren, Ana, Marisa and Samantha ! And to Ana and Destiny as well for urging me to write on ! And to all those who may have liked it ! You are all awesome, and I owe you a lot ! And of course, thanks as well for the regular updating of your stories ! (Hey, Ana, being compulsive in publishing again, wz 2 chappies at a time ? Easy, Girl, easy ! XD)**

**Anyway, here's chapter 4, just served 4 you to "devour". Bon appétit ! (French, eh eh…)**

**/**

**4 _ A BREATHLESS CHASE**

**/**

"It looks really creepy round here !" Danny said.

"Yes it does !" Chris conceded. "No light, nobody around, and a rather sinister landscape. I wouldn't want to live here, really…"

"Yet we'll have to stay here for quite a while, so better get used to it real soon !" Sam said. "And they have strange vegetation too…" she said as she walked up to a mass of blue round items that looked like huge bushes. She touched them. They were cold.

She shivered then turned to the blunette. "Okay, so we have to head south, right ? You have the compass, Chris. Show us the way !"

He put the brass object flat in his hand and watched intently. Sam and Danny got closer and had a look as well. The hand of the compass followed a circling way for a moment, then came to a standstill. They all raised their heads to check out the direction. The path turned left over there, and the blue items bordering it were gathered thicker along the way. It sounded like the road _not_ to follow…

"This way" he muttered, everything but enthusiastically.

"Alright, Team. Off we go ! We mustn't waste _any_ minute !" the brunette let out.

They started walking and soon reached the bend, turned left and found themselves in a kind of path, with lines of those blue items stretching in long lines right and left from the road.

It was dead quiet all around, so quiet that it seemed that everything and everyone had passed away on that strange planet. The absence of any sound made them regret their homeland, with birds singing, children laughing, dogs barking… it was a very lively planet that Earth ! This one was the exact opposite, with this thick silence floating around them like an unhealthy invisible fog… It was very oppressive, sweltering. They could feel their hearts beat swiftly in their ribcages as they slowly made their way between the two ranges of blue shapes.

"It's so silent…" Chris remarked. "I feel everything but relax in here… I honestly can't wait to finish the mission and leave this frightening place… It's really funny : when there's too much noise on earth, we find it stressful, but here, where there is absolutely no noise, it's even more stressful. Curious, no ?"

"Well, you gotta admit this place is really a great freak-out. I mean, not a sound, no one around. Almost looks like we're on a planet where all life has retreated from, and where nobody has put a foot on for years and years…" Danny whispered.

The path was now turning right. Chris kept an eye on the compass, to make sure they weren't veering off course and straying away from south.

The group now found themselves walking in a new environment. The path was now bordered with pale yellow twisted plants, or what seemed like plants, in which red balls were hanging, like tantalizing fruits. But were these fruits, really… ?

Danny couldn't help reaching out for one of those red spheres. As soon as his hand got in contact with it, the "fruit" dissolved into tiny red bits which quickly rose up to his face and rushed past his nose. The contact was a very unpleasant one, and the smell Danny perceived was close to pepper. Which… which… made him… want to… want to… to… sneeeeeeeeeze !

"ATCHOUM !"

The sneezing was so sudden and so loud that it took Sam and Chris by surprise. They jolted at the terrible sound and turned back in a flash.

"Danny !" Sam whispered in a low but upset voice. "Put your hand in front of your mouth when you feel like sneezing ! You must remember what Katie told us : that we must avoid making any loud noise, because Howlers have a very developed hearing and could easily locate us. Actually, they may have already…"

She kept silent and listened attentively. The boys imitated her.

Silence wrapped them in its mysterious embrace.

Silence left the void as only answer to their wondering.

Silence cast them apart from the rest of the universe.

There wasn't even the faint sound of the wind to break that thick silence. Absolutely nothing. The only noises that had been heard up to now had been those originating from the MBC.

"I think that it's quiet. We can go on." Chris stated in a whisper.

"Yes, it seems to be okay." Sam conceded in a low voice. She listened again carefully, but nothing was heard. Silence ruled the land…

Therefore, they set out but still kept an eye on their surroundings, just in case…

They had been walking for about two minutes when…

"Did you hear ?" Danny whispered quickly.

"Yes !" Sam said. Chris didn't utter a word but nodded.

There had been a faint sound. Somewhere on the right. Behind one of those big yellow plants. Something like a discrete hissing, but very short. It could almost have been unnoticed… but all of them actually _had_ noticed it !

Sam put her forefinger over her lips, to indicate they shouldn't talk, and while giving them an intense look (_stay alert, guys !_), her hand went down slowly in direction of her blastercase.

Chris opened his blastercase and seized the weapon, then pulled it silently out.

Danny raised the blaster and pointed it towards the bush where the sound had been heard.

They all remained staring at the bush, but nothing seemed to move. Silence was back. Sam gave a side look and...

"DANNY ! BEHIND YOU !"

The red member pivoted and his eyes opened wide when he saw what was there.

A black slug was creeping without a sound towards the Jock. It had a white globe in the middle of its forehead – well, if you could actually _call it_ a forehead, given that the creature was pretty shapeless.

Danny fired at the creature but the energy shot reached the monster's skin without any effect. The dark body progressed towards the spike-haired boy. And suddenly, it stopped and opened its mouth, out of which a dreadful howl gushed out the next second. What an unpleasant sound that was ! Something between creaking and wail.

Immediately after the creature had finished, other howls raised in the distance. But not _that_ distant...

"It's probably calling for reinforcements !" Chris screamed, his heart beating a wild pulse.

Sam shot at the slug, but there was as little result as with Danny. Then she aimed at the white globe that seemed to serve as "eye". Alas, that didn't yield anything neither.

"Blasters are useless against this thing ! But maybe the Double X..." She changed weapon in a flash and shot at the alien, hoping for a pain reaction. Yet the same negative outcome...

"SAM ! ON YOUR RIGHT !" Danny yelled on top of his voice.

From under the yellow gigantic plants several other slugs were now coming, and the trio noted that this time, the ugly creatures were creeping faster than the initial one, that they had been trying to bust.

"If we can't find a way to beat them yet, we'd better retreat quick and find some hideout where we can think things out and reflect on a way to fight them. Because these things are getting here fast and we have no time to set up an attack plan !" Chris rushed out. He felt panic working its slimy way towards his heart and mind.

"You're right ! We need more time to sort it out and figure out a way to either destroy these things or sidestep them ! Chris, lead the way out : you have the compass and need to keep it south ! Danny will come after you and I'll take care of our backs !"

They all got moving as the group of back slugs were almost there. Chris ran as quickly as he could but kept his eye on the compass. Danny followed him, but he suddenly stopped and made a step aside. Sam, who was walking sideways in a fast pace, spotted Danny and stopped as well.

"Dan', what are you doing ?"

"Go on, I'll be checking the back !"

Sam was puzzled. "Hey, it's not the right time to be a hero, Man ! These things are on our heels, and doesn't matter who watches them ! Why do you want to do it anyway ?"

He gave her a knowing look. "One of these things, as you say, has jeopardized one of my best friend's life. So I want to be the one standing between them and you two. I don't want to lose another best friend !"

Sam felt her heart overflow with emotion. "Danny..." Although danger was drawing near, she couldn't help being touched in this moment, touched by his generosity.

"Sam, quick, run on ! They're coming ! GO !"

The black fighter cast an eye a little on the left and saw a black swarm crawling furiously towards them. So she started to run again, but turned her head regularly to check that the Jock was still behind and far enough from the hideous aliens chasing them.

The road had now disappeared and they found themselves in an open space, a kind of plain where small purple triangular... trees – were these _trees_, really ? – were growing a bit everywhere, scattered in irregular groups and faintly glowing, their light incessantly increasing and decreasing, increasing and decreasing...

The trio of earthlings rushed through the plain, squinting their eyes to try and find some shelter, some place where they could hide from the crawling army howling and sliding mercilessly a short way behind.

But alas for the MBC, the plain was flat, desert, and no semblance of a cave, forest, rock or any such thing in the immediate surroundings.

They went up a hill and their eyes met with something new. There were huge forms down in the glen ahead. And these might actually offer protection for the humans who were now panting and experiencing pain in the throat from breathing that fast. Chris was the one in the worst case, with a now acute pain in the left side.

The group hurtled down the slope and reached the place. It was a circle of stones, but the way they were arranged was bizarre. It was a succession of the same pattern : two vertical high stones on which a long horizontal one was lying. It reminded a kind of table.

"Dolmens !" Sam let out, amazed. What were indeed these doing on that planet ?

Chris collapsed. "Gee, I... I can't anymore ! My... my side is hurting... badly... throbbing pain... there !" He showed the lower left part of his abdomen.

Sam ran to him, concerned. "It must be your spleen aching ! Because of the lack of oxygen ! But you have to get up, Chris ! These creatures will be here in no time. We must find a place to hide. Come !"

She put his arm around her neck and her arm around his waist. Doing so, she briefly felt a surge of happiness, and a hot wave reached her face. _I'll help you, my Chris ! I'll do anything for you ! Courage, I'm there for you !_ Her eyes met his, he smiled, and she did as well, but felt the urge to turn away. Her face was still hot.

But heat turned to coldsweat when Danny yelled : "They're coming down !"

And indeed the menacing dark creeping swarm was already engaged on the slope...

"We've gotta climb on the dolmen !" Sam screamed. "Sorry to ask another effort from you now, but you'll have to : we're dead meat if we stay down here." she added for Chris.

"The what ?" Danny asked. "Dolmen ?"

Sam gave him an impatient look. "This stone table here. Quick, help Chris climb up there !"

The green-eyed boy ran to the dolmen and gave the tech a leg up. The latter had difficulty reaching the top but he made an ultimate effort to pull himself up. He turned around to see how it went for Sam and Danny.

"Quick, Danny, I'll help you ! Hurry, they are almost here !" the black girl shouted.

The white boy was about to say that he would like her to go first, but the insisting, urging look of his friend made him rather stay quiet and obey. He put his foot in the "nest" made by Sam's hands and grabbed Chris's hand. He soon was up with the freckled genius.

"SAM ! QUICK ! THEY'LL GET YOU !"

The yellow member quickly took a few steps back, with a scared look at the slugs which were about to touch her, then launched as fast as she could, jumped. Her right foot touched the vertical stone and she gave a push, then somersaulted and landed safely on the rock with the boys. She asked Chris if he felt better, to which he replied positively.

"Waow, Sammy, how did you do that ?" Danny asked, goggling.

"Ah ah, that's my trick. You don't get to learn it. To each their own, right ?" She grinned, then her face gained seriousness again. "At least we may be out of danger now with those slimy creatures. Unless they can climb. Let's check it out !"

The three of them glanced downwards.

The black slugs were now hissing, sliding around the vertical stones to find some passage but finding nothing. Thus they just kept their white globes directed at the tiny group up there and hissed out their rage and frustration.

"Good thing, they can't make it up here!" the Jock stated. "But we still have to figure out a way we could beat them, otherwise we'll remain on this... dolmen for ever. Where does that word come from, by the way ?" He faced Sam as he finished his question.

"Dolmen are stone tables like these, and you find them in Northern France, in an area called Bretagne. And perhaps you've heard of Stonehenge, in Great Britain ? It's not identical, but somewhat similar. The remains of an ancient civilization, I believe. What really surprises me is to find dolmen, that are Earth objects, on an alien planet. That's really weird. It could mean that either humans came here before or aliens from this planet came to Earth."

Both of her teammates listened, then the scarred boy started again : "Ok, that's cool, but we still haven't found the weak point of these monsters. Any idea, "Doc" ?"

Chris scowled. "Hum, yeah... anyway... we have tried two different weapons on these... hey, wait a second ! What about the Vacuvator ? I mean, they are aliens, right ? It should work then."

"Ok, here it goes !" Samantha let out. She changed her blaster for the sucking up device, aimed at the organic group waiting below and started it. The dragging ray reached the slugs... but once again, nothing positive came out of it.

"Man, what can actually have effect on these ?" the brunette wondered. "We have tried several weapons, and failed. I believe we only have the Blue Shift blaster and the Bubble Gun left. It better works, otherwise I don't have a clue about what's next..."

"My turn !" Danny energetically exclaimed. He picked the Blue Shift gun and fired at the blobs underneath. The pink circling waves touched the slugs.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRR!"

Some smoke raised from their bodies, as they hissed a peculiar sound, that the MBC hadn't heard up to now. It was an intense noise, that stretched in time. And while they kept on screeching, the slugs were moving away from the dolmen as fast as they could.

"Dude, I think you hurt them ! Shoot them in a to and fro movement, to touch them all !" the blunette advised.

The Jock did as he had been told, and made his weapon wave right and left as he pressed the trigger, so that the uninterrupted ray could reach all slugs down there.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRR ! GAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRR ! GAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRR ! GAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRR !"

The sinister army was now fleeing in full disarray, crawling away from the dolmen, screeching on and on and on as they retreated.

"I don't know what it did to them, but they clearly don't like it." Sam remarked. "It actually looked as if it was burning them, because of the smoke rising from their bodies. But I'm not sure we can kill them with this weapon. If we could, these things would be dead by now, wouldn't they ?"

"I agree with you, Sam" the blue member conceded. "But at least, we have an efficient way of dealing away with those slugs. Better than nothing, no ?"

"Yeah !" Danny exclaimed. Then he turned towards the place where the slugs had gone and shouted : "There's more for you whenever you want !" And the tone in which he said this made Samantha and Christopher guffaw.

They laughed for a few minutes, then the leader spoke up : "Good we have at least something working on those creatures. Now we can't afford remaining up there for too long. We have to go on walking south. We have about 50 hours to save Cathy." She took a look at the tiny silver hourglass hovering above her wrist. "Or maybe less now, I can't tell. We must absolutely hurry, for there may be some tougher obstacles waiting for us ahead and that need more time to be dealt with, so like I said, we can't afford losing time here. Come on, let's –"

She stopped and gazed intensely at Chris, whose eyes were now goggling. He was watching something behind her, and without a word raised his arm and pointed his finger with an expression of utter disbelief on his features. He was directing his finger up to the sky.

Sam turned around and gasped. Her eyes opened wide.

"Oh God !" she muttered.

**/**

**And one cliffhanger, one ! Isn't that mean of me, really ? Yeah, I can be a bitch sometimes, I know. But that's how ya like me : teasing and joshing. Right ? ;)**

**Told ya there would be some action in this one. Serious things have started. Now, what's coming to MBC this time ? Another foe ? An unexpected weather change ? A spaceship ? **

**Well, that's all in next chapter, that I will start, with God's help, this afternoon. So, Ana and Destiny, PLEAAASE be patient, and the rest of you as well ! I'm doing my best to write quickly, although my schedule's hectic, just for ya to have sth new to read in the best time range possible. Oh, I'm not dashing it off, mind ya, not botching it just to do quick : I already have my ideas, and the only thing is I write them more regularly than I used to, that's all.**

**Anyway, please review, PM, do all you can to tell me yr opinion. I LOOOOOVE reviews and comments ! C'mon, make my day again ! **


	6. Deadly battle

**Girls, I have no words to express my gratitude to you for writing such positive, flattering, enthusiastic reviews as yours ! I'm happier than I've ever been as an author ! Thanxxxxxx to the maxxxxxx for being that supportive and "complimentive" (no, it doesn't exist, just made it up outta the blue ! ;D ) ! You are all awesome ! Thank you, really !**

**Okay, you want some more action ? Want extra adrenaline ? Here's 4 U !**

**/**

**5 _ DEADLY BATTLE**

**/**

From a distance was arriving a group of winged creatures. And it was flying straight to the dolmen location. So, after the earth-bound monsters, there came the air enemies ! Katie, the lady from planet Minnie, had been right : it was a most dangerous mission ! And it was just beginning…

"Damn, where do we go now ?" Danny yelled. "We should get down and hide under those stone tables, but what if the slugs decide to come around again ? We'll be safe neither on the ground nor up on these… dolmens, right ? Man, it's getting trickier now !"

His voice showed an evident upset, if not a preoccupation. He didn't like the way negative events kept on occurring, and just when they had dealt away with a danger, another one was getting at them.

Sam was thinking in a rush. It was true that they could get caught between two "fires", with the winged creatures in the air and the dark slugs on the ground, but they had to make a choice.

She finally gave her directions : "We must get down and hide under the dolmen, to avoid this aerial attack. It's true that things may get tougher should those blobs get back here, but they have gone for now and the immediate riskiness comes from the sky. So we _have_ to act according to this close menace. And if the slugs come back…" She paused, then : "Well, we'll see what to do then. Come one, let's get moving, guys !"

The crew all jumped in turn from the top of the dolmen, right in time to avoid a first attack. Something hit the horizontal stone shortly after Danny jumping from it. There it was : the fight was engaged.

The three fighters gathered underneath the mineral shield of the rocks, flattening themselves against the two vertical stones. Sam risked an eye outside and had just enough time to put her head back in : a shot crashed on the ground, right below the exact place where Sam's head had been coming out for a glance.

"Gee, these creatures are not joking ! And they seem to be very accurate in their aiming !" the African-American remarked. "It will be a tough battle, folks !"

"Yes, it will." Chris repeated. "All I hope is that those slugs won't be back, otherwise we'll probably be forced to run for our lives, as we won't be able to remain still in this place !"

In this moment, a dark silhouette came down a little further away, as if to land, but finally flying on just above the ground. The monster looked like a huge moth with long horns splitting apart like giant beetle antennas. It was staring at the human group hiding under the stones, and after a silent moment of observation, it opened its mouth wide. Darts emerged from it and were cast swiftly in direction of the earthlings.

"WATCH OUT !" Danny yelled, and the three of them quickly ran behind the mineral pillars. It was a close one, as the darts missed Chris by only two or three seconds. The MBC could see the deadly weapons disappear away, and they immediately turned their heads to the sky, as a loud flutter could be heard above them.

Two other aliens were there, watching their preys, and they didn't wait long before opening their mouths. The trio hid fast under the dolmen and saw the darts land by the entrance of their improvised hideout.

"Damn, are these creatures good at shooting !" Danny almost shouted. "They each time are close to getting us ! What can –"

"Guys, look ! We gotta run out of here !" Sam exclaimed. And indeed, the winged monster which had been reaching the ground to shoot them under the stone table was opening its jaws once again.

They scurried off just in time to avoid a new throw of darts. They were now defenceless, out in the open space, and could see they had few chances to make it. There indeed were many of these giant moths-lookalike flying in the aerial surroundings, and apparently no other place to hide than the dolmens.

"Come on guys !" the Jock bellowed. "Let's try and bust these things ! If we can't hide, we can at least fight ! And the MBC won't be simply hiding from monsters all the time !"

"Hey, Sam, Danny ! I suggest we each try a different weapon, this time. As we saw with the slugs, it may be that a monster is sensitive only to a certain weapon, while the other ones have no effect on it. Each one of us will choose one of our guns and shoot at these aliens. And when one of us notices that his or her weapon actually hurts the monsters, he or she tells us so we can all three pick that weapon and fight them all together. How about that ?"

Sam grinned wide. "Chris, did I already say you were some kind of genius ?"

He smiled back. "Oh yes, many times, actually…" He rubbed the back of his eyes and felt like blushing.

"Well, then, let me say it one more time: you ARE a genius !" She winked at him. "And now, come on, Team. Leeeeeet's bust them !"

"I'll take the Blue Shift blaster !" Danny said. He thought that maybe, since that weapon had had an effect on the slug before, it may work once more against the winged enemies.

"Ok. I'll go with the Double X." Chris informed his friends.

"Right. Vacuvator's for me, and if it doesn't work, I can also try the Bubble Gun" **(A/N : Yeah, it's a pun with "Bubble Gum", I confess… XD)** the leader concluded.

They all evolved their weapons in the gun of their choice, and the fight started for real.

The swarm of hideous air foes started sending darts regularly to the three fighters, and the latter had to continually move in order to dodge the shots. It took them many efforts, and it was tricky, for they had to both keep on moving and aim at the same time. But they were experienced enough to do it, and the different rays reached their targets after several misses.

"The Vacuvator doesn't work !" said the brunette. "I'm gonna try the Bubble."

"Neither does the Blue Shift blaster !" said the tech in response.

But instead of Danny's feedback on the gun, this came :

"SHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA !"

Sam and Chris turned around in a simultaneous movement, just in time to see an alien fall to the ground, its body wrapped in a coat of smoke.

"The Double X _WORKS_ !" Danny shrilled on the top of his lungs.

It took only a few more seconds for his friends to change their guns for the Double X. Three similar weapons started to cast their luminous beams in the dark sky.

The group of giant moths lost three other members before some tactic change took place. All of the creatures started to fly faster and made circles, then each one in turned dived very fast and twirled around madly, its mouth throwing darts at the human trio.

The MBC did their best to dodge the attacks and shoot at each coming enemy, yet it was everything but easy. Still, several new victims of the Double X met with the ground, where their bodies lay smoking. Slowly but surely, the flying army got decimated, one by one, but the three fighters started to grow weary, and they couldn't spend the whole night fighting…

That's when something caught Sam's eye. Some small things were coming their way. Some things that were moving on the ground rapidly.

"The slugs are coming back !" she shouted.

Danny and Chris quickly turned their heads towards the horrible beasts crawling in their direction and their eyes goggled.

"No ! What will we do now ?" Chris shouted to Sam.

"I'll take care of these !" Danny answered. "You go on with the sky ones !" And he traded the Double X for the Blue Shift blaster, and started firing at the monstrous blobs, which each in turn shrieked. He had to keep on running to avoid the darts he still got sent by the winged foes, so he was dealing with both kinds of enemies at the same time.

"Aaaaaaargh !"

Chris had let out this scream of pain. He actually hadn't spotted one of the moths-like, which had swirled in his back and sent his darts in the basis of his neck. And he was now lying there, a wince of pain twisting his features.

"Chris !" the black girl let out. She ran to him, forgetting all prudence. And Danny, who had made the slugs retreat once again, had come to the rescue, and while Sam was leaning over Chris, he chose the Double X again and fired frantically at the aerial demons, making the powerful ray go in fast circles to get more chances to reach his targets.

"Chris, oh Chris !" Sam said, tears welling up in her beautiful golden eyes. "How are you feeling ?"

"I feel… very tired… feel… like… sleepiiiiii…." His eyes closed slowly.

"Chris ! CHRIIIIIIS !" the yellow member hollered, now weeping for real. She started to shake her beloved's body, but no could do : he had fell asleep… or worse ? She spontaneously hugged him tight, against her body, against her heart, and felt despair overwhelm her. _OH NOOOO ! Oh my Love, noooo ! I can't lose you ! I haven't told you that I love you… I didn't have the courage to… and now it's too late ! Please, Chris, please, live… live for me… live for us… my Love…_ She started to cry over his body.

"Sam ! How is Chris ?" Danny shouted in the back.

She had to gather all of her will to speak despite the lump in her throat, and finally managed to : "He… he has fainted…" She put two fingers against his jugular vein, and felt that his pulse was still beating, but very slowly. It reminded her of Cathy. She risked to lose two of her best friends, and all because of the monsters of this damn planet !

And when she looked up, and stared at the winged enemies, her wet eyes had their gaze changed : fury was now shining in them. A terrible, tremendous, boundless fury ! "I'M GONNA DESTROY YOU ALL, SCUMBAGS !"

And she grabbed her weapon, ran close to Danny and started firing frenetically around with the Double X. The foes fell one by one and hit the ground regularly.

There soon were only three left, and the red member killed one of them. He turned to Sam, who had just got another one, and that's when his eyes got wider, his mouth opened, as terror filled his heart.

Busy as she was, busting one of the monster, she hadn't noticed the other one – the very last one - flying up behind her. And this last one was now diving in her direction like a bullet out of a barrel. It was almost on her !

"SAAAAAM ! ABOVE YOU !"

She heard it and raised her head in a flash, but…

A violent shock.

A scream.

A body falling to the ground.

Danny couldn't utter a single word…

**/**

**Well well well, things are getting really tough for MBC. And if it goes on this way, there won't be any member left… Can it be possible ? Will they all die ? That planet is… _dead_ perilous, isn't it ? And time is running out… running out… and out… and out…**

**As always, review, and you'll make my day ! In advance thank you, thanxxx for all the past reviews (way more than for my previous stuff altogether… I'm so :D !) and good luck wz yr own stuff ! Update QUICKLY ! (Hum, except for you, Ana, coz ya bloody update TOO often… so often that I hardly have the time to read a chapter that the next one is already out !)**

**Many hugs and smiles to you all !**

**Peace, Love, Ecstasy !**


	7. Help !

**6 _ HELP !**

**/**

**I know what you think…**

**This is Elton, and I know what you think…**

**You think : _"Why is Leo not updating ? Why is it taking him so long ? When will he publish again ?"_**

**That's all this you're wondering about, right ?**

**Me : *comes in* Hum, Elton… what did you just say to my audience ?**

**Elton : Hum, no-… nothing, Leo ! Yeah, well… errrr… gotta go ! Bye ! *leaves***

**Well, what the heck did the guy want with my readers friends…?**

**Anyway…**

**HELLO, FOLKS !**

**Yeah, I know, I used to update regularly and didn't this time. That's coz I've been busy writing 4 another story I had left aside and that had started rusting. I did publish for it on Thursday, and two days later, back to SHADOWLAND !**

**I've also had to deal with possibly/probably/definitely unfinished stories, four of them altogether, and this left me… hum, I'm not gonna fume right here right now, but you'll hear me in the POSTWORD about unfinished works !**

**Long intro, right ? Yup, but I felt like doing so. And now back to our plot. N'joy !**

**/**

He looked at her, who lay defenceless before his eyes. He wished he could do something for her, but yet, he couldn't. And because he was helpless about it, he felt his heart torn with sorrow.

She had her eyes closed, and lay there, motionless, and from what could be observed, she may as well have been dead…

What could he do ? Why did it have to be her ? What would become of him without her ? What would become of _all_ of them without her ?

He felt desperate, really desperate. If only she would move, open her eyes, stand up… if only all of this was nothing but a nightmare, and he would soon wake up from it…

"She won't die, don't worry !" a voice said in his back. He turned to the talker and sighed.

"How can you be so sure she won't die ? She already looks like she is !"

"Yes, I know. What happened to her is terrible, but she'll be alright, you'll see !"

His shoulders slumped. "I don't know… I really don't know… I hope you're right !"

She walked to him and grabbed his hands, then squeezed them very tenderly.

"Now, stop worrying, Hugo ! I tell you she's going to be fine in the end. Believe me. I know that her three friends will be here in time to save her. I _know_ it !"

The old Rhapsodian looked at his long-time friend. "Well, Katie, may you be right ! May the gods have mercy on Cathy ! If they do, I'll be indebted to them for the rest of my life !"

The pale elderly lady smiled to Mr Smith. "Just be confident, Hugo ! Just trust me ! Samantha, Christopher and Daniel will make it ! You will see !"

He let out a deep long sigh. "There's nothing I hope more for at the moment. Cathy is the dearest person to me, and if I lost her… you know, Katie, I'm not sure I would accept to live on !"

She gave him a shocked look. "What… What are you telling me here, Hugo ? Are you talking about… suicide ?"

The old alien cast his long-time friend a sad look. "I'm not saying I _will_ take my own life if Cathy passes away, but… but I'm not sure whether I still will have the will to live. I'm doubting. No certainty, but… without Cathy…" He trailed off, and silence fell over them. A thick silence, and while they didn't utter anything, their eyes were stuck to each others, and sadness seemed to fly eye to eye, filling the room with an uneasy atmosphere.

While they were watching without a word, the young victim started to moan and wince, and she moved rapidly under the blanket, as if she was having a nightmare.

They both turned to her, and the pale lady was first to speak : "You see, she's moving restlessly in her bed, as if she had sensed what you were saying about a possible suicide. She seems to be unconscious, but still… she's getting agitated just when you tell me you might consider dying if she doesn't survive. It really is a curious coincidence. This looks to me as a warning… a warning that, although not conscious, she doesn't like what you're saying, it upsets her even in her coma and that her agitation is there for you to understand that. As if your words had made her have a nightmare of your death." She turned to Mr Smith. "You know, Hugo, you should consider it. And think again. I have a feeling that Cathy, while she's in a coma, still shows signs of disapproval regarding your… extreme choice…"

The white-haired Rhapsodian remained silent for some more time, then he sighed heavily. "I can't deny it's a strange coincidence my granddaughter is fidgeting in her bet just when I wonder if I can live on without her. And you're certainly right when you say she would never approve a suicide decision from me. Yet, I really don't have a clue whether I could accept to stay alive when she isn't anymore… I'm not saying I _will_ kill myself if she dies, maybe I won't, but as things stand, I… I just can't be sure of anything anymore."

Katie took Mr Smith's hand in her own and squeezed it firmly, while a supportive and comforting smile lit up her whole face. She was with him, and he could tell this from the look she was giving him. He sketched a smile, but such a sad sad one…

/

He was watching in her direction and felt his heart sink within his chest while coldsweat was bathing his back. It was like a living nightmare ! Was this ever going to end ? Would the fallen victim be fine again ? He ran as quickly as he could in her direction.

"SAM ! SAM !"

He made it to the place she had been standing and lowered his eyes to the ground. "Sam… are you okay ?" He could feel his face burning and heart racing.

She slowly moved on the ground and it took her a moment to sit down, but at last she managed to. "Yes, I… I think I am… you ?"

"Yeah, yeah, I am, but it's not me who's just been attacked, or about to be at least." He helped her up.

She looked at him with a puzzled look. "By the way, can you tell me what happened ? Coz I'm not sure I understood all of it."

Sam losing her grasp over events… now that was something unusual !

"Well, as long as I can recall, that creature was just on the verge of smashing you, but just when it was raising its arm, a bolt of energy hit it, it gave out a loud scream and collapsed right beside you. And the force of the crash added to the proximity with you made you fall, if I got it all right…"

She nodded. "I indeed saw that energy ball get the monster, and then it fell just by me, and the impact had me knocked over. But where did that energy shot come from ? Did you see ?"

"Well, all I could say is that is was coming fro-" While he spoke, he had raised his arm and pointed to a certain place on the right…but proved unable to finish up his sentence !

Sam's eyes slightly widened upon noticing Danny's astonishment and she turned her head in the direction he was pointing to, in order to check out what mad him so surprised.

And she was just as taken aback as him.

A small group was coming their way. And this time, those beings looked humans. Or at least… humanoids.

But once they were closer, the two MBC members could note that the little crew walking to them had a yellow colour. It definitely weren't humans. But that wasn't the main point.

"New foes in sight !" Danny exclaimed as he took the blaster out of its guncase. But Sam put a hand over his arm. "Wait, Dan' ! We don't know whether these are enemies or not. They are just walking quietly to us, and don't show any sign of aggressiveness. They don't look like they're going to attack us. We should just wait and see how they behave once here."

But her male counterpart didn't feel that wise about the strangers. "I say we should still keep our weapons in hand, just in case. It's better to be armed in the first place, or else we may lose advantage !"

The brunette shook her head : "I'm not going to brandish a weapon before I know their intentions. For in case these are pacific, we may just lead them to think we're dangerous and thus have a battle engaged uselessly. It's better to wait, I tell you !" She made her tone very persuasive, but Danny had a different perspective and stuck to it this time. And kept his blaster firmly in his hand.

When the mysterious troop was close enough, a shout was heard : "PUT YOUR WEAPONS DOWN ON THE GROUND IMMEDIATELY!" The voice was full of authority and both teammates could tell the owner of that voice was not one to mess up with.

"NOT BEFORE WE ARE SURE YOU ARE NOT ENEMIES TO US !" Danny replied.

"Danny ! We may get into trouble if we act this way. They may consider it a bellicose attitude and could attack us just for that ! Think twice : if we do what they say, maybe we'll get to see they're actually pacific and could perhaps even help us !"

But the Jock shook his head. "The Danny doesn't give it up unless he can be sure it's safe !"

The brunette frowned hard and her features gained animosity. "Listen…"

"LAY YOUR WEAPONS DOWN AT ONCE ! THERE WILL BE NO THIRD WARNING !"

The yellow member put her hand on the red member's arm and tightened her grip, while looking hard at the boy. "Danny, please do as they say ! I don't want any of us to be in trouble ! We already lost Cathy, and perhaps Chris, so we can't afford getting more decimated !"

She was staring so insistently at him that he finally gave in and sighed in defeat. "Alright, Sammy. You win. But I hope you know what you're doing, Girl…"

She smiled. "I do. And thank you for listening to me. I have an inkling these guys are not foes, but rather future allies. Don't ask me why, it's just a premonition of mine…"

The Jock slowly leaned forward and put his gun down, then got back up, showed his empty hands, so did Sam, and both then kept still, dangling arms, waiting for the next thing.

One of the aliens was walking nearer now, a henchman by his side, holding a kind of trident in the direction of the remaining MBC members. They stopped only a few inches from the two teammates and watched them attentively. And the staring looks were reciprocal, as the earthlings checked out every detail of their opposites.

The creatures now standing in front of Sam and Danny were completely yellow, except for three blue dots on their chests : one on the right, one on the left, one in the middle of the chest. Their heads looked like foxes's, but with _two_ pairs of thin eyes, whose irises each moved independently from the other three.

They had six tentacles by way of arms, three on each side of their trunks, and at the end of each tentacle were six tiny tentacles. The latter reminded Sam and Danny of human fingers.

The lower part of their bodies were constituted of two legs, which ended at the bottom by three-parts feet – which were like three digits set in triangular position – with adhesive discs at their tips.

The creatures were really tall, taller than the humans were, and seemed stronger but also more athletic. Should there be a physical fight, they would be likely to have the upper hand over earthlings…

"Who are you and what are you doing here ?" the first alien asked in a clearly a female voice. She had a red jewel shining in the middle of her forehead, which distinguished her from the rest of the troop, who had none.

Danny was about to answer, but Sam, who had noticed this, put her hand up in a stop sign and gave him a knowing look. He gritted his teeth but said nothing. Sam nodded in gratitude then turned to face the alien.

"We come from Earth and are here to rescue a friend who is now risking her life. Her shadow has been stolen by one of those dark slugs called Howlers. We came here thanks to an interdimensional passage and want to ask the help of Queen Lauren, sovereign of the Light People. We have been told that she could help us locate the shadow of our friend."

The eyes of the chief alien widened when she heard this. "You want to see Her Majesty ? You don't get to see her like that. We must be sure that you really are who you claim to be. And if you are deemed sincere, only then you can ask for an audience with Her Majesty."

"You say "Her Majesty"… Are you soldiers from the Light People ?" Sam went on.

"We are the elite troop of the Light Army, and protect the Kingdom of Her Majesty Queen Lauren, 123rd sovereign of the Beabas, that you call Light People. And I'm the leader of this army, General Gianell. Now that you know my name, may I know yours, humans ?"

"My name is Samantha, but everybody calls me Sam. And this is Daniel, but he goes by Danny. (While three of the alien's eyes remained focused on Sam, the fourth one moved and stopped on Danny, to consider him) Our friend who had her shadow stolen is named Cathy. And we have another member, Chris..." Then her eyes got wider than ever. " Oh Chris ! My God ! We are talking and talking, and he still lies unconscious over there ! Can you please help us to cure him ? He has been hit by darts from those flying creatures, and fainted. He may be poisoned. He's over here. Follow me."

While she was talking and pointing to the place where Chris was lying, one of Gianell's eyes turned to the direction Sam was showing. Only one of her eyes moved while the other three stayed on Sam. The fact that the alien could move her eyes independently from each other really seemed creepy to Danny, who felt a shiver in his back.

Sam ran towards the body of her beloved. Gianell let out a few words in alien language and the henchman with the trident nodded, then the latter turned to the rest of the soldiers and said something as well. Finally, both Gianell and her own guard walked up to Sam.

The brunette was kneeling by Chris and rested his head over her thigh. She took his pulse and noticed it was still beating, very slowly but still there. She had a sigh of relief when she realized this. _He's not dead. Oh God, he's not dead. May he not die ! May he get safer soon ! Oh Chris… _

"Can I examine your friend ?" Gianell asked gently. Her face had lost its severity and showed… compassion ?

"Yes. Please help us save him ! We don't know what to do. We are strangers here and ignore how to cure this."

The leader of the Light Army kneeled down as well, and took a good look at the wound. Her long nose, which looked like a fox's, smelled intensely, and all of the four eyes frowned. Then all looked at Sam.

"Those creatures are called… well, the alien name wouldn't be of much use to you, but if you should translate it in your language, it would be…. Mmmmmh… the closest would probably be "the Poisoners". They are hybrid creatures created by an evil alien, long ago, and they attack with poisoned darts. We have to hurry if we want to stop the effect of the poison in his body, for this effect has rapid aftermath when not countered."

Sam gave an approving sign. Then Gianell told something to her guard, who nodded and yelled another bunch of alien words to the remaining soldiers. All but one motioned to the place Sam and Gianell were waiting by Chris (the last one stayed to watch Danny… trust wasn't settled yet…). Then three of the guards took Chris and lifted him above their heads, in horizontal position, and carried him this way.

"You will come with us to our city. Her Excellence Chancellor Ana will help you cure your friend… sorry, what is his name ?"

"His name is Chris. And thank you so much for helping us. We have had to deal with so many foes since we put a foot on this planet… You are the first friendly creatures we meet up with ! Thank you, General Gianell !"

The fox-looking alien watched Sam for a moment, and this enabled Sam to notice that her opposite never blinked. At no moment could her eyelids be seen moving… but now that the brunette could take a closer look, she _didn't_ see any eyelids in the yellow face of the alien.

After a while of reciprocal staring, the chief soldier sketched a smile and said : "You may just call me Gianell, if you like… Sam ? Right ?"

"Yes, my name is Sam. Thank you, Gianell. And thanks for helping us. And… for trusting us… well, if that's trust yet, I don't know…"

The four-eyed being smiled a tad wider. "You know, Sam, my sixth sense seldom betrays me. Whenever I have a premonition, it most of the time proves right. I can almost say that I _feel_ things. And something deep inside of me tells me you are not enemies, and moreover that all you said was true. I can see it in your eyes. Eyes don't lie, I've found. But that's only premonitions. Now Her Excellence has a gift which enables her to _really_ know who is good at heart and who isn't. It's not a premonition, not a guess : she can with certainty look into your soul and tell who you truly are. She will probe yours and your friend's soul… Danny, is it ? …and she will know for sure that you are good people. Now, let's hurry back to our town and cure Chris."

"Thank you so much, Gianell. And thanks for saving my life before, when you killed the Poisoner which was about to get me".

The red-jewel alien smiled frankly now. "No problem, Sam. Oh, I forgot to introduce my right-hand man… or rather woman : it's Lieutenant Desmira. She is my sister. I consider her a very brave and clever fighter, whose help is invaluable."

The yellow member bowed her head : "Glad to know you, Desmira !"

The alien nodded and replied in her own language. The chief turned to Sam and explained : "I can both understand and speak your language, but Desmira only understands it. She speaks only Beabian, the mother tongue of Beaba's. And she just said she is honored to know you as well ! She can't already trust you, since we just met, but she can feel that I consider you positive beings, so she relies on my premonitions, almost always good, and greets you back."

They all moved back to where Danny was and the chief gave instructions to her men. They listened, then the whole troop set out. Gianell was walking first, followed by Desmira. After came the three soldiers carrying Chris above their heads. Sam and Danny walked each on one side, always looking at Chris, to see if he was moving at all during the walk. Last came two soldiers, whose role was to bring up the rear. One of these kept focused on the troop and the landscape before them, the other one scanned the surroundings in their backs, to make sure no enemy was following.

And soon the plain was desert again. Only remained the corpses of the foes. Silence had taken back the lead. Nothing was moving.

Nothing, really ?

Apparently only…

A dark silhouette, hidden behind a rock, watched the group of soldiers and MBC fighters disappear behind a hill, then it raised its hands, joined them in the air, as if to pray…

… and all that was left was a cloud of black dust hovering in the air, which remained there, sending negative vibes around, until all particles finally vanished away…

**/**

**And there it was ! Sorry to have delayed it this time, but as I said, I was busy writing on another story left aside for some time, and whose fans had been waiting longer than SHADOWLAND's. I'm sure you understand.**

**Will they be able to cure Chris ? How will the MBC quest evolve ? And who is the mysterious character at the end of this chapter ? It's all for you to find out.**

**Oh, by the way : about the names used for this fiction : Katie (from planet Minnie), Lauren, Ana, Gianell, Desmira (which is a mix of Des – for Destiny – and Mira – for Marisa -)… well, I wanted to use my friends' names, with your permissions. And I'm sure you permit it, don't you ? It's an "homage" to all my penpals. An homage to friendship. **

**And now that I have updated again (happy, Ana ?), now I can ask : when will YOU update yourselves ? Coz figure out that if YOU are waiting for ME, I am waiting for YOU as well. Eh eh eh !**

**Till next time, Buddies ! Take care !**


	8. The Chancellor

**Greetings, Humans ! =)**

**As always, your nice reviews do warm my heart. It's a pleasure every single time to get that much positive feedback from you. I do my best for you, and to update as quickly as I can. For the moment, I haven't had any WB in any of my stories. May this go on this way and the gods of inspiration never stop to "feed" me ! ^^**

**Thanks for reading on ! And here's a new reward for ya all ! N'joy !**

**7 _ THE CHANCELLOR**

/

There it was, at last !

The city of Fic, home of the Beabas, the People of Light !

It was not that big for something bearing the name "city". One would expect a larger built-up area than what they had before their eyes. But it still seemed impressive, notably due to the colour of houses : they were all white, and such a bright white, almost blinding !

And it also was impressive because of the shapes. Those dwellings had pretty quirky shapes, far from the square houses humans lived in. There was nothing to compare. It was completely different.

As the armed group moved forward through the streets, some children came near and watched the strangers with wide eyes. Each of their four irises was focused on the two humans, and also on the one lying horizontally, motionless. Their parents were standing close, to make sure their offspring didn't get too close from these curious beings. But deep inside, all were really surprised and curious about these newcomers.

What, indeed, were these strange creatures, who each had a different skin colours : one white, one black and one tan ? And they also had strange thins above their eyes : the white one had brown spiky kind of it, the black one had dark kind, with two parts hanging on each sides of her head and two black balls behind, and the tan one had a sort of dark blue kind of it. And why was their black bodies bearing different colours : the white one with red parts, the black one with yellow parts, the blue one with blue parts ?

The Beabas watched the humans but couldn't figure out who they were, where they came from, why they were here and if they were prisoners or guests. They just watched as earthlings followed the Light Army, and children then caught their parents' attention, and began babbling like crazy, pointing at the newcomers who were getting away, in direction of the Palace.

"Did you see, Sammy ? We're the stars here ! The kids are crazy about us !"

"Of course they are ! We are very different from them, in so many ways. You know like children are, don't you ? They're fond of novelty. So it's no wonder they are goggling like this and whispering questions to their parents while showing us."

The group arrived to a huge building with towers, which was almost quirkier in its conception than the houses were. But they weren't any luxurious ornaments or decorative details, like there were in the human castles. The palace of the queen was just bigger than standard houses, bigger and more twisted in its shaping. A rather impressive construction, indeed.

When the little troop got to the entrance, Sam and Danny could notice the half curious half suspicious looks the guards cast them. The aliens wondered who these people were, and also whether they were friendly or hostile. But even their suspicion seemed respectful, much more than human suspicion.

Once they had reached an intersection of halls, Gianell gave orders in her language and the three soldiers carrying Chris, after listening, took right. The MBC members and the four remaining extraterrestrials watched them go and turn left. Sam felt like asking a question, but before she could actually open her mouth, Gianell gave an explanation, as if she had sensed the question forming in Sam's mind.

"They are taking Chris to a comfortable room where he will rest. Don't worry, we won't be long to cure him. And for that, we will need to go and ask Her Excellence's help. She has a secret remedy which should definitely repel death away from your friend. Now please follow me to the Chancellery Room."

The General lead the way, Desmira on her heels, Sam and Danny close behind. The other two guards still followed, and probably would until the Chancellor had deemed the MBC safe and friendly. Sometimes, confirmation from an authority is needed for the subordinates to behave in the way required by the situation. You just have to accept it.

After climbing up stairs, the group went on straightforward, then up other stairs and finally arrived in front of a huge wooden door. Gianell opened the door and went inside alone. Sam and Danny waited, thinking of their fallen friends and hoping something could be done for both of them.

It took a little while for Gianell to be back. She opened the door wide and showed a discrete smile. "You are waited for, humans. Please come in and meet Her Excellence. Oh, and I kindly ask you to bow, as a mark of respect. I know you're not subjects of the Light Crown, but every guest here is asked to bow, for courtesy's sake. I'm sure you understand."

"Of course. We will be glad to do so. And thank you for your help, Gianell !"

The fox-looking creature widened her smile. "It is my pleasure to do all I can to help people in need… people I sense as good ones, friendly ones."

And she stepped aside to let Sam and Danny in.

There, in the center of a large room, was standing a tall figure dressed with a white robe. A cloth that bore no ornament at all : just plain white linen. Even the important Beabas people were dressed simply, nothing luxurious or remarkable. And the room itself was really modest, without expensive furniture, without beautiful carpets or draperies. The curtains themselves were white and bare. There was definitely an impression of simplicity and modesty stemming from the Light People. Really far from the ostentatious luxury of rich and powerful humans.

"Welcome to the city of Fic, home of the Beabas, People of Light. I am Chancellor Ana, the humble servant of Her Majesty Queen Lauren, 123rd sovereign of the Light Kingdom. I am pleased to meet you, young humans." And she bowed gracefully to the earthlings.

The Chancellor resembled the other Beabas, except for two details : the colour of her skin wasn't yellow, but a pale orange, and on her forehead shone two blue gems, same size and shape as the red one on Gianell's own forehead.

As Ana rose up, Samantha and Danny bowed and then the black girl addressed the alien : "Your Excellence, thank you for welcoming us in your kingdom. It is very kind of you to do so. My name is Samantha, but you can call me Sam, and this is Daniel, but he goes by Danny. We have come here to ask Queen Lauren's help : the shadow of our dear friend Cathy has been taken by a Howler and we were told that Her Majesty could help us locate this shadow, as she can feel shadows and their exact locations."

Ana nodded her head, smiling. "Yes, Gianell quickly explained me the reason of your presence on this planet. And of course I will discuss the matter with you. Bur first, two tasks are to be completed : first, I must probe your souls; second, we must give your poisoned friend the cure that should save his life. About probing your souls, I'm sorry to impose you this, but all newcomers are to undergo this step in order to be confirmed as "not dangerous". And you probably aren't, but still, I have to do it. I hope you understand."

"Of course, please do !" Sam answered.

"Thank you !" the Chancellor answered. She put her arms down and spread them, palms facing the earthlings. Then light filled her eyes, a light that became more and more intense, almost blinding. She kept her head directed at Sam for a while, then turned to Danny. There was no sound, just this dazzling light that gushed from the eye-sockets of the extraterrestrial. The Jock couldn't resist and put the arm in front of his eyes. But it was soon over and the light faded away.

"Dear Sam, dear Danny, I find your souls really pure. You are very nice and very brave humans, and it is an honour to meet with members of the Monster Buster Club !" Ana bowed as these words were spoken.

"What ?" Danny was taken aback. "You… you knew we were members of the MBC when you probed our souls. But… that should rather have to do with the heart or the mind, not the soul !"

The fox-looking creature smiled. "It has to do with your heart and mind, of course, but it also reflects within your soul. Your own identity is present in the soul as well. There are so many things you can find when you take the time to analyze what constitutes your soul. And with this, I know you're friendly, pacific beings and declare you our guests. Now, I think we should head to the room where your friend is resting. We must counter the effects of the poison. I will get the remedy."

Ana walked to a box sealed inside the wall and put her hand in front of it. A flash of light could be seen, and the boy opened by itself. Ana kept her hand up and a glass receptacle came floating from within. Then she lay her hand flat and the small container landed slowly inside. Last, the orange alien put her other hand up facing the box, and the latter closed by itself.

"Now, please follow me, we'll help Chris. Gianell, Desmira, you may come with us if you want to, but your two guards here aren't needed anymore. We now know that our human guests are… not only guests, but also friends ! I can tell that for sure. So we don't need any further protection."

Gianell bowed and let out a rapid succession of words to the two guards. They bowed as well and left the room.

Ana got to the door, the glass receptacle laid straight up in her palm, and Gianell, who always came second, due to protocol, asked her now friends to follow herself. Desmira went last, a short distance from them, as she was supposed to walk behind the guests, both for protocol and security matter.

They used a different itinerary than the first time and soon reached Chris's room. When they entered, they saw the blue-haired boy lying on a white bed. A guard stood by the door, to make sure nothing happened to the young human. When she passed by him, the general said a few words to thank him for keeping watch over the victim, and the guard bowed down before her.

The blue-jewel alien stopped by the weakened boy's chest and lifted her hands. The tiny cork opened by itself and a silver cloud emerged from the glass prison, almost looking as if it was alive and pushing itself out of the small container. Then the cloud rose up in a column, higher, higher, higher, and when it reached a certain height it started down but split into many parts. Each part landed on a different part of Chris's body and spread around.

Soon the whole body of the freckled boy was covered with a thin silver layer. It remained there for a while, then the magical dust started to slowly sink down inside the poisoned organism. And pretty soon was the geek's body back to normal.

The yellow and red member had watched intensely the scene. They had never seen anything even close to this, and probably never would. None of them had ever believed true magic could exist, yet what they were witnessing _was_ definitely magic. Alien magic.

"What… what happened ?" Danny asked, baffled.

"That cloud of dust that got out of the bottle is the Blood of Silver. It's a very ancient and sacred substance born from the blood of the Great Elder, an antic wise alien who kept the whole universe in balance for centuries and centuries, until he got defeated moons ago by Hathho, the Shadow lord."

The eyes of the black girl opened wider as this was uttered. "Did you say… Hathho ? I think I recall Katie telling us about him. She said he was the leader of the Howlers, if I remember correctly. Is that right, your Excellence ?"

The Chancellor smiled. "Please call me Ana, Sam. We are now your friends, and you are ours. Friends call themselves by their names, and don't use formal words. You would have to speak in a more official way if we were just acquaintances, and not friends. But Beabas become friendly when the people facing them have such noble souls as _you_ have, dears." She paused and gave both earthlings a benevolent look, then went on. "And regarding Hathho, you are right : he indeed was the ruler of the Howling Legion, and used all of his military power to gather as many shadows as he could. There was a fight between him and the Great Elder, both got fatally hurt… and as you certainly guessed, they both passed away little time later. One of the most valiant heroes who had come too late to rescue the Great Elder had heard that his blood contained a substance that could cure any kind of known poison, and he collected it. This substance is the Blood of Silver, named this way because the Great Elder's blood wasn't red, like the human one : it was a shimmering grey that made us think of silver."

The left eyes of the orange alien both moved left to consider the blue-haired boy lying pale on the white bed, his right ones remaining set one on Sam and the other on Danny."This remedy now has been absorbed by Chris's body. It will be getting in contact with poison and making it evaporate. But I have to warn you that it is a long process : the boil-off takes more than three hours for an alien, and I ignore how much time it will be lasting for a human. It may be more or less as long, but may as well be either shorter or longer. All we now can do is wait and hope. We must be confident and trust the power of the Blood of Silver."

The Chancellor kept silent and stared intently at the leader and the jock. Her heart was sending positive vibrations to theirs, and so was her mind. They now realized that Ana was a very wise and kind being, and that she would do all she could to help them. Both then took a long look at the motionless silhouette resting defenceless before them, and they formed the most begging wishes for their friend's soonest recovery.

"I really hope he'll be fine again, as soon as can be ! He's of invaluable help in our team, and the nicest boy ever. He didn't deserve that. I wished it was me instead of him lying there. It's so unfair ! Unfair as can be ! Why him ? Oh God ! _Why ?_" Sam felt the lump in her throat block up her words and despite her will to stifle any sob, a tear still formed and slowly traced its way down, as her throat was aching so terribly.

Danny came to her and put his arm around her shoulder, his head against hers. "I know how you feel, Sam, and believe me, it's hard for me too. But you heard Ana : her cure will help Chris up. I know he will. And all of this will be behind us then. Be confident !"

She looked at him and nodded. Gianell decided to comfort Sam as well : "Danny is right, Sam. You have to pull yourself together. I do know it's horrible seeing your friend so weak and so close to the worst, but you should trust the power of the elixir. It _will_ work, you'll see ! Just believe, Sam, believe with all your heart, with all your soul ! Believe and it will be !"

Ana walked up to the black girl and put a hand over her shoulder. "Please be confident, Sam, and you will see that miracles do exist. Such substances as Blood of Silver make them real : the impossible – or what you maybe _thought_ impossible – becomes possible ! Soon, you won't feel like crying anymore, my dear : you will feel like smiling. I promise you that."

And a very gentle smile lit up the alien's face.

Sam looked Ana straight in the eyes and wiped her tears away. She stared intensely at the fox-looking creature, at those four eyes which now were all directed to her golden ones. She could feel the energy emerging from the tall body and had the impression that this energy was pouring forth into herself. It really seemed to her that the alien was transmitting her part of her energy, to strengthen her and comfort her. No, it was not just an impression : it was _real_ ! Ana was _really_ giving her the power to believe. Sam was convinced of that now.

The yellow member took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, they were shining with a renewed light of hope.

"I have no words to express you my gratitude, Ana ! I sensed you've been making your inner energy flow from your body to mine, and for this, I thank you with all my heart. I now know that Chris's body will eventually be completely voided of the poison. I feel it for sure. Thank you for making me strong again, your Excellence ! I used to be so strong in the past, as if nothing could ever reach me, but… maybe I'm not that strong after all…"

The Chancellor shook her head and went on smiling confidently. "No, Samantha, you're wrong : you _are_ still very strong ! But even the strongest persons can get moved when their dear ones' lives are at stake. It's normal, and one can't call this being weak. One has to consider it a proof of love. You feel suffering when a very good friend or a very close relative is feeling really bad, if not more. You are more sensitive than you may think, Sam. But sensitivity certainly isn't a weakness. It's the heart's intelligence, my dear !"

And as she said this, she tightened her grip over the brunette's shoulder and her staring was more supporting than ever.

"Ana, I don't want to sound rude or anything, and I really thank you for comforting Sam. Really !" Danny said. "But times passes quickly and we have another friend to save : Cathy ! We absolutely must find her shadow, which was sucked away by one of those slugs, and bring it back to her body before it's too late. And for this, we need the help of your Queen, Lauren. She apparently is able to locate shadows. Can we meet her, please ?"

The blue-jewel alien made her two right eyes look at the red member, her left ones still on Sam. She observed the green-eyed boy and the golden-eyed girl for a moment, then sighed. A deep sigh, which came from the depths. It surprised both of the teammates, as it was the first sign of apparent tiredness they could notice in Ana.

Then the Chancellor looked down to the ground for a few seconds, and this too floored the humans. They hadn't seen that wise and noble figure uneasy up to now…!

Silence at last got broken. The venerable Beaba raised her head, watched each MBC member with two eyes, just like before, and finally spoke up : "I'm sorry, but you can't meet Queen Lauren !"

Sam and Danny opened their mouths in disbelief…

**/**

**I seem to be fond of cliffhangers, right ? But ya all love 'em, don't ya, Folks ? ;)**

**I hoped you enjoyed this one as well. The Chancellor character is really impressive, isn't it ? Both because of her wisdom and her kindness. But why won't she let Sam and Danny have an audience with her queen ? And if they can't, what will happen ?**

**As always, any review is most welcome. Thanks in advance for caring about it ! =D**

**Your positive vibes are my fuel to go on, the cornerstone of my inspiration ! ^^**


	9. Forced waiting

**Hey People !**

**Once again I must thank anybody bothering to read this story. A particular thumb up to Ana (BoS) for reviewing EVERY chapter ! It's way kind of you ! And I'm happy you are « in love » with my story ! (When's wedding planned ? XD)**

**Thanxxxx also to Destiny (MM) and Cristina (CG57) for their kind comments ! Very happy you like it that much !**

**Okay, so where were we again ? Ah, right, here : **

**/**

**8 _ FORCED WAITING**

**/**

"What… what did you say ? We can't… meet the Queen ?" Sam was astonished. Things had just began to get a little better, with Chris being probably on the way to healing, and now… this ! Could fate just give them a break ? Could there just stop coming bad news ?

"No, you really can't ! And believe me, I'm so sorry…" Ana was watching them with visible sorrow.

Danny felt his mind starting to crack. How would they save Cathy without the help of the Queen ? Would they be able to locate her shadow by their own means ? And _how_ exactly ? Danny was so frustrated and felt like letting out all his anger and bitterness…

… when the Chancellor opened her mouth and gave the explanation : "But it's not what you think ! It's not that she doesn't want to see you, or that **I **don't want to let you meet her or that you have no right to, no. It's simply because… Her Majesty no longer is among us !"

When that was uttered, both humans felt their hearts sink down inside their chests. For this way of formulating things generally meant that the person had passed away. At least that was like that on Earth. Whoever was no longer among humans… was dead. As simple and cruel as that.

Samantha felt a shiver run up her back. "Do you mean that the Queen is…" She paused for a few seconds and was about to end her sentence when the fox-looking alien got what the young girl had in mind and immediately replied : "Oh, I'm sorry if I mislead you. That's not about death. Sorry, I didn't realize ! No, the problem is that our queen has been abducted last week, and we've been doing our best to find her since then, but to no avail up to now. We even ignore who may have taken her away, but it's certainly related to the Howlers and the Poisoners. Who could be behind all this ? Especially now that Hathho has died…"

"Queen Lauren has been kidnapped ? But why ? What do they want with her ?" the brunette asked.

Ana's right eyes moved to her. "I don't know, but Her Majesty has incredible powers and someone probably will be trying to use these to their own benefit. We haven't got a clue on how this would be done, but we absolutely must find a way to save her, no matter how much time this will take ! We must search everywhere on this planet. _**Everywhere !**_ And we won't stop until we've located her, set her free and punished those who ever dared to put a hand on her !"

As she uttered these last words, the Chancellor frowned in a very menacing way and the blue jewels on her forehead glowed intensely. Both teammates watched her as she thus expressed her wrath, and to see this usually collected figure now angry seemed really odd. Odd and... frightening !

But it didn't last long, and very soon was Ana back to her calm nature. Her right eyes on Sam, left ones on Danny, she let out an almost imperceptible sigh.

"I'm sorry, dear friends, so sorry that I can't do more for you. I alas don't have the power to locate shadows, so if you want to find it, you either have to look for it in your own means or to wait until we have found our Queen. We have already been searching many many places on this planet since last week, so we may find her quicker than we think."

Danny couldn't bear it any longer. He had to let it out. "Look, we haven't got that much time before us. We now have less than 50 hours before our friend dies. That's not much. We have to find a way to locate the queen. You can't... I don't know... find her by the force of your mind or something like that ? By telepathy or such ?"

Ana shook her head. "I normally should be able to communicate with her through psychological vibrations, but I can feel that the psychological path is blocked. Something has been set that prevents our usual communication. I have no idea what it is exactly, but it resembles a mental force field. There must be someone powerful behind this all, for sure."

"Are you sure that Hathho is definitely dead and that nobody could have taken his place ? We heard that he had no child, or at least that no one knew of a possible offspring of his, but could there be a son or a daughter alive, and that child could then be the abductor of Queen Lauren ?" Sam wanted to try all logical tracks, to better define who the mysterious foe was.

Ana got thinking for a few seconds, then turned entirely to Sam, all four eyes on her. "Actually, we saw Hathho die and used a special ritual to make sure his body was completely destroyed, flesh, blood, bones... everything. For there are rumors that some creatures in this galaxy could be able to revive a being from a tiny part of the dead body. That's why we had to make sure Hathho disappeared in his entirety : nothing should remain that could be used by those mysterious creatures to "recreate" Hathho. So that can't be him behind all this !"

She paused then her eyes seemed a bit distant, before focusing again on Sam. "Regarding a possible child, as far as we know, no one never got a proof about that. But not finding something doesn't imply that it _doesn't_ exist... So there indeed is a chance that Hathho had a son or daughter, and that the latter is the one pulling the strings in the shadows, right now."

"All that is fine, but what do we do now ?" the jock asked. He visibly was impatient to find some solution. Sam cast him a side glance. That was just like Danny : a boy of action, once and for all, and not so much one of thoughts. But he should have to understand one day the importance of reflection before setting up a plan or a strategy...

"Believe me, I would like to be able to help you myself find the shadow of Cathy, but I alas can't trace it. Only Her Majesty can do that. We are currently searching the whole land, and have good hopes to find some hidden lair soon. I know we haven't got much time, but..."

The sadness filling her eyes told good enough of her actual state. She had powers, but they couldn't help to find neither the abducted queen nor the abducted shadow.

Then Sam grew a shy smile. "You know, maybe... maybe that, when Chris will wake up, he will figure out something. His cleverness has made the decision in so many cases. I know it sounds like some crazy, desperate hope of mine, but I'm not giving it up. I know that his mind is just wonderful when it comes down to strategy and inventions. Perhaps he can figure out some way to find the Queen in a faster manner..."

Her teammate made an unconvinced wince. "I don't wanna undermine your enthusiasm, Sammy, but I can hardly think of how our homemade genius could this time save the day. I mean, he's got no computer, no material to work with, so what do you expect exactly ? That he invents new gadgets out of the blue ? And using what tools anyway ? Sorry if this sounds tough and killjoy, but I'm far less positive than you on this one. With all due respect to the intelligence of Chris."

Sam scowled but what Danny just said didn't make her change her mind. She still thought that it was worth waiting for Chris's recovery, to see what he could do. Besides, there weren't that many side solutions in this moment.

"I say we still check with Chris when he's up on his feet again. We have nothing to lose right now, have we ? If you have a better idea, I'm pricking up my ears !"

The red member got lost in his thoughts for a while, but noticed he didn't have anything more efficient to propose. Sam and him could have helped patrolling the land, but that would only have added two more people to the searching squads. Besides, could they leave Chris unconscious here ? And what if he woke up and found them gone ?

No, he didn't have a better solution to offer. So he just chose to shrug it off and admitted : "Okay, let's do it your way, Sam ! But I'm not as convinced as you seem to be..."

"I can easily tell" she answered "but let's just wait and see. In case I was wrong and even Chris can't help us more, then we'll be reflecting on a new strategy all together."

There was silence then, and because it lasted, Gianell somehow felt obliged to break it by making a proposal : "So I take it you want to wait for the awakening of your friend, right ? In that case, I suggest you get some rest in one of our guest rooms. You probably are very tired from all your fights, and sorrow is a supplementary source of weariness. You should try to sleep a bit, for although your minds are now anxious, your bodies probably are longing for some resting time. Don't worry about Chris : we'll be watching over him, and of course we'll advise you immediately in case he wakes up."

"Personally, I don't think I can ever close an eye when two of my best friends are between life and death..." Danny let out. It didn't sound sarcastic, more like slightly outraged by the proposal.

The African-American girl put a hand on his arm. "Danny, don't react this way, please ! I do know you're as worried and frustrated as me about what is happening to Cathy and Chris, maybe even more, but you must consider things more realistically ! We have nothing better to do than wait for Chris's recovery, and while we may not feel like sleeping right now, I guess we're still pretty exhausted, both from physical efforts and emotions endured. Some rest would be appreciable. Not necessarily sleep, but just rest. I do feel preoccupied about our friends, just like you, but I also feel tired and would be relieved to lie down for a while. And also... you know, Dan', we'll need to be in good condition when the time comes to go rescue Queen Lauren and find Cathy's shadow. And to be fit _then_, we should try to recover from our tiredness _now_. It's the right time for it, since nothing is happening at the moment. I'm not sure we will have that many occasions to recharge our batteries later on. And you heard Gianell like me : she will come get us should any modification take place in Chris's state, especially if he wakes up."

Danny remained silent for a short while, then pouted. "I still say I don't feel like sleeping while Cathy and Chris are down. But on the other hand, I do feel tired, so I guess mere rest would be nice. At least for an hour or so."

Gianell smiled. "Good that you agree ! Please follow me to the guest room where you will be able to unwind a bit, at least physically speaking."

Samantha nodded then turned to Ana. "Before we go, let me thank you for all your kind words, your explanations, your comforting me and passing on some of your energy to me. It is an honor to know you, Ana ! Thank you for everything !"

"Yeah, thanks indeed !" the jock echoed.

The Chancellor bowed and smiled once she was straight up again. "You are welcome, my dears ! Don't forget you are now both our friends and hosts ! We will do everything we can to help you, and hopefully will we soon locate Her Majesty, rescue her and then she can tell you where you can find the missing shadow of your alien friend. All our troops will be at your disposal, in case you need support to reach the place where the shadow lies and to help fight your future enemies."

"Thank you, your Excellence !" Sam reacted.

"My pleasure, Sam ! And please go on calling me Ana ! Official formulas such as "your Excellence" aren't for friends. Rest well, you really need it. I will see you later. My best vibes are accompanying you."

And with that, Sam, Danny, Gianell and Desmira left the Chancellery Room.

The General led the way downstairs, turned right then followed a long path, and finally stopped in front of a door. She opened it, but didn't enter; rather, she stepped aside to let the MBC members enter first.

"This is one of our most comfortable guest rooms. I hope you will find it at your convenience. Stay as long as you want. As explained, you will see me back as soon as some change takes place in Chris's condition. Desmira will stay outside and will be there for you in case you need anything. I could put another guard, but they don't understand your language, whereas Desmira does, although she doesn't speak it. Just tell her if you want to see me and I'll be there quickly. I'll now get you some food and drinks. Maybe you don't feel hungry at all, due to your preoccupations, but you still need to regain strength, and absorbing food is one of the best ways to, along with rest or even sleep."

Gianell turned back and spoke out a bunch of alien words. Desmira bowed a bit and left.

"I just asked her to give orders for food and drinks to be brought here. I know that alien food will seem pretty... hum, strange to you, but you may find it good. We alas have food that probably is completely different in aspect and taste to your Earth food, but that's the only stuff we have to offer. I hope you like it. And now I'll be retiring. I won't be very far from here, at the end of the corridor. I have to check the status of our search, to know if our squads have managed to spot something resembling a lair, where Her Majesty could be held. Desmira will be here for you. Have a good meal and rest ! My nicest wishes to you ! Don't worry, your alien friend will be safe ! I swear she will be, and Chris as well !"

"Thank you, Gianell ! You are such a kind person !" Sam replied, smiling.

The yellow fox-looking creature bowed a tad and her grin widened. "Always there for you if you need something ! And it is a pleasure and honor to be your friends !"

"Same here" Danny intervened "And thanks for the food and beds !"

"You are welcome, Danny ! Glad you like it ! We'll meet later. May you have a pleasant stay here, despite the context !"

The red-jewel alien went out, and a moment later, two guards came in carrying bizarre things on wooden plates, and a large pot containing some golden liquid. They put everything on the table, bowed and left, closing the door.

The two teammates were now alone with the extraterrestrial food, which may have been diverse fruits. If one could call "fruits" stuff that was unidentified up to then...

"They look odd..." the green-eyed boy commented.

"I know" the golden-eyed girl answered "but I also know that I'm both hungry and tired. I don't forget about Cath' and Chris, but we'll get nowhere if we neither eat/drink nor sleep, or at least rest a bit."

"How come you always have a sensible reply to just anything, Sam ?"

"Bah, that's just me..." She smiled and reached for a purple sphere in the wooden plate.

/

Danny stifled a belch and turned to Sam. "Well, who would have thought that ET food was so delicious ? Very different from what we generally eat on Earth, but still... a real delight ! And curiously enough, while we didn't get that much, I still feel replete ! And you ?"

Sam gazed at him with a little grin. "Yes, I have the same impression : to be sated, although it wasn't that plentiful. But what an exquisite food ! It's more delicate and tastier than the human one. That supper was a really pleasing time ! It will give us strength, and our rest will as well. Man, do I feel exhausted !"

They were both lying on beds and felt that tiredness was slowly but surely gaining mastery over their weary bodies. Would they have insisted on watching over Chris, they would have fallen asleep sitting !

Danny was staring intensely at the ceiling now. His feelings were related to the urge they were in to find Cathy's shadow and take it back to her body before the black veil had covered all of his beloved's body.

As if she had sensed his thoughts, the leader addressed him in a gentle tone : "Don't you worry, Dan', we will save her. I know you have Cathy on your mind right now, and I can almost _physically_ feel how tense you are when thinking of the deadline we have. I guessed what your feelings for her are, you see, and I understand what suffering your heart must endure at the thought of the danger hanging above Cathy's head. She's your beloved, and of course, you would do whatever it takes to save the life of your dear love."

The scarred boy seemed stunned for a short moment, but soon a familiar expression was on his features. "Of course you had guessed it ! I should have known ! You're the smartest of us all, Sam, so it's no surprise you had caught my gazes to Cath'."

"There were the gazes, true, like for instance the one you wrapped Cathy in at PE and later at the cafeteria, remember ? I initially thought you were looking at the wrong person, confusing our favourite alien with Wendy, but after noticing more similar stares from you, I figured out the whole thing. And then there also was your emotion when you energetically insisted on the necessity to hurry to find Cathy's shadow. You of course would be willing to hurry if a good friend's life was at stake, but you were always particularly determined in this precise case. And given your earlier looks... your determination appeared to be love-related."

Danny sighed and smiled, his eyes closed. "Can one really hide something from you, Sammy?"

"Well, I don't have all the answers and can still be wrong in my intuitions. I'm just a human being and do make errors, live everybody else. But I generally have a good sixth sense, and what I suspect often proves correct."

"And if you told me a bit about your feelings for Chris, now ? Some things hinted me to some secret love. Like, your extremely emotional reaction when you held his body, after he had collapsed, during the fight with the Poisoners. Or your tears earlier, when thinking of him. Of course, one can cry for a friend, but to me, it looks more like... love !"

It was the black girl's turn to sigh. "You got it all. I guessed for you and Cathy, and you guessed for Chris and me. One all, right ? (she smiled) Well, you see, I've been infatuated with Chris for a long time now. It's something both physical and intellectual. His blue eyes thrill me, and so does his smile. On the other hand, I just have to admire his mind. He's such a clever boy. You said earlier that I was the smartest of us all, but you know, I'm not so certain about that. Chris really has an admirable intelligence, and he got us out of trouble so many times, with his gadgets and new inventions."

She paused and looked outside, to the dark sky. She smiled softly as she imagined Chris's face smiling back at her. It was such a loveable view.

"I love Chris because he's also very considerate and respectful of others. He's always polite and mild mannered. Generally calm and collected. And of course, we share a common point that makes us very close, from the psychological perspective : we have that same analytic mind, that same think-before-acting behaviour. We are on the same wavelength, so often. Therefore is it not surprising that I would fall in love with him. I don't know whether he feels the same for me. I wish he would, you know. Maybe I'll come to him and share my secret with him, when all this is over. Do you think I should make the move or wait and see if he does it first ?"

Silence...

"Danny ?"

Same as before...

She turned her head on the side to see the spike-haired boy lying on the side, eyes closed. And she knew that, should she have put her ear by his face, she would have noticed that his breath was now deeper and slower.

_Poor Danny ! He must be exhausted ! But after all, what's more normal ? We've been going through a lot in terms of efforts and emotions, and that tires one up. I'm pretty weary myself... I guess I will imitate him..._

She yawned and changed position to lie on the side, just like Danny. After closing her eyes, she tried to think of delightful moments they had lived, all four happy and careless... memories of bliss... the four of them laughing... joking... what nice moments...

After some time, Sam's breath also slowed down and she lay there, in the arms of sleep, like Danny.

And all movements stopped in the room.

Well, all but _**one**_...

The regular movement of the silver dust falling from one half of the tiny hourglass to the other, endlessly, endlessly, endlessly...

**/**

**Okay, how was that ? Good enough ? I do hope so. This is a transition chapter, where action is suspended, and reflection is privileged. Sam and Danny have no choice but wait and hope that Chris will be of help once more. If he can't, and if the Light troops can't find Queen Lauren... what could possibly come to help then ?**

**Time is passing by, slowly but surely... Let's pray that things will get better soon, right ?**

**As always, your reviews and nice comments will be highly praised. Thanks 4 reading and all take care ! And try to update your own stuff SOON ! **


	10. A solution in sight

**Hi there Folks ! **

**Well, sorry if I can't update as often as you would like me to, but guess what ? I'm pretty busy as well. You have your studies, I have my job, and lately, I couldn't write as much as I wanted to. But meeeeh… :)**

**As for the thanks, they go to all of you, of course, but notably to BoS, my "chapterly" reviewer, and most especially to BB123 (welcome back in the "review loop", Lauren ! =) And welcome to a new fan, Yuna ! Glad to gain new support !**

**Anyway, long speech made short, without further babbling, here's the new stuff. N'joy !**

**/**

**9 _ A SOLUTION IN SIGHT**

**/**

Sam moved a bit and slowly opened her eyes. She saw a familiar figure watching her from the foot of her bed.

"Mmmmmmh… morning, Chris…"

Because of tiredness, she closed her eyes after a quick smile to the boy. So tired…

Then a flash of understanding zigzagged through her mind and she opened her eyes wide, sat up and watched with fully goggling eyes.

"CHRIS ? OH YOU ARE SAFE ! OH THANK GOD !"

She threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly, so tightly.

"Eh eh eh ! Did you miss me that much, Sam ?" the blunette asked, smiling wide.

"Dude, is that you ?" a voice said a little further.

They both turned to see Danny, resting on one arm and taking a good look at Chris. On his features was the kind of expression you normally see on people's faces when they see a ghost or a creature never met before. It was obvious he found it hard to believe it.

"Yup, that's me indeed, macho boy !" the tech said, which made the jock frown and wince, but it was quickly gone to be replaced by a frank smile.

"But how… Gianell had said she would wake us up in case you were yourself awake. Did she forget to ?" the brunette wondered.

"No no, she didn't. It was me who asked her not to warn you, and instead to lead me to your room, so that I could make you the surprise." He smiled, pleased with his own consideration to them.

"Now that's so kind of you !" Sam exclaimed. "And I can't tell you how relieved I am to see you back. We were really worried about you."

"Yeah, especially Sam…" the scarred boy trailed off with a smile full of innuendo.

She gave him a glaring look which implied a threat in case he said more. But then her scowl shifted to a bright smile when she looked back at Chris.

"Well, yes, I did miss you. You're one of my best friends and I would always be very affected when a very good friend of mine is down, either physically or mentally. I'm so glad you're healthy again. We owe Gianell a lot, really ! Where would we be without her ?"

Chris nodded. "Yes, I talked with her and with the Chancellor. Gianell told me how she had come to you after the attack by those Poisoners, as they call them, and how her guards had carried me here and laid me in the above guest room. We were fortunate to have had her in the surroundings when we got attacked, for how would we have managed without any outer help on this foreign planet ?"

"Yup, her intervention was well-timed, no doubt !" Danny confirmed. "Killing naughty aliens is one thing, but curing some poison is another thing, especially when you don't know what plant can help cure it."

"You got it right, Dan' !" the MBC geek declared. "And the Chancellor explained me that they weren't able to locate their Queen, Lauren, who is the only one able to locate shadows, and would therefore be of help to find Cathy's shadow. She has been abducted a few days ago and they are now searching for her everywhere. That's the whole thing, right ?"

The amber-eyed girl gave a head approval. "Yes, that's where we are now standing. The troops of the Light army are searching everywhere, but to no avail up to now. And we were hoping that maybe… you could figure out some way of making the search more efficient. I know we don't have any material here, no technological equipment and such, but I was wondering if maybe… you could do something with our own gadgets, those we have here with us. Given your creativity, I don't know…you're so gifted..."

Danny laughed up his sleeve, which caught the attention of Chris. Sam sent the jock a deadly look and the green-eyed boy simply said : "Hum, don't mind me ! I was just thinking of something funny…" But the glare didn't vanish from the brunette's eyes, since she knew that the "funny thing" was her crush on Chris and how she sometimes awkwardly let it see.

The tech gave it a good thinking and wondered how he could possibly manage to narrow down the search field, in order to find the Queen's detention place quicker. But he couldn't visualize some solution yet…

"What about we all went to see Gianell now ?" Sam proposed.

And soon the three of them were out of the room.

Outside was standing the General. She had been waiting patiently, leaving Chris alone with his friends, for some intimate time. It was appreciable, since they hadn't seen him up for a good long time now : they could enjoy their reunion, all MBC members together.

"It's so pleasing to see the smiles back to your faces, my friends. I'm very happy for you." the red-jewel alien declared.

"Thank you very much for everything, Gianell !" Sam said with a big grin.

The fox-looking creature slightly bowed. "It was a pleasure to help you, dears !"

Danny was impatient, you could have said by his look. "Okay, now we all must think of a solution to save Cathy. Chris, we need to know how you can help with the search of the Queen, so that we can find Cathy's shadow quickly !"

The freckled genius looked at his buddy and smiled. "Glad to see you're that motivated, Dan', and I'm eager as well to start working on a plan, but right now, I'm starving ! I don't know if the poison triggers hunger or if it's just that I haven't eaten anything in a while, but I'm really really hungry. And I don't think I'll be able to focus on any matter should my stomach continuously complain, see what I mean ?"

The macho boy frowned and made a sulking face. "Mmmmpf, okay then... But try to eat fast so that we don't waste too much time ! We haven't got that much already !"

Chris smiled again. "Okay, man, I promise I won't waste too much time feeding myself ! I'll even chew only half of my food. Okay this way ?" The tone was ironical and Danny sensed it, made a face, shrugged and turned away.

The tech and the leader exchanged amused looks, laughed up their sleeves and winked.

"Please follow me to the dinner room ! We'll make sure that Chris gets enough to be fit and at ease again !"

They went after her, and Desmira once again came last.

/

"Waow, I don't know what all this was, but what a delight ! Although I haven't eaten that much, I have the impression I'm sated. Very strange a feeling !"

"Yes, we did have the same before, when we ate in the guest room." Sam then turned to the General. "Your food really satiates even when there's not much on the table."

Gianell had a little laugh. "Ah ah, I can tell it surprises you. Our fruits actually are very rich in vitamins and a substance called "baasx", which is pure energy, so you don't need to eat that much to be in good shape again."

Chris got up, stretched a bit and let out a long satisfied grunt. Then he turned to his friends, Gianell and Desmira, and gave them a bright grin. "Okay, shall we go for the "real thing", now ? I'm in much better condition to think it up now !"

Gianell nodded and led the group out of the room. They walked to the end of the corridor, turned right and went on until half of the new corridor. Gianell opened a door which had a symbol on it – three eyes in a rhombus – and let the MBc members first, then followed inside and Desmira closed the door once she had entered as well.

"What was that symbol on the door ?" Danny asked.

"Well, the three eyes is an ancient symbol of the primitive Beabas, and it actually refers to the ability to think. Our ancestors indeed represented intelligence this way. But no one has managed to understand the reason for this choice. As for the four-side figure, it stands for the four directions related to the body : front, back, right, left. Which means the basic surroundings of a person. If you want, it would be a way to represent intelligence spreading in all directions around someone, intelligence flowing from the mind and outside around the person."

Chris caught Gianell's eye. "Tell me, General, did your troops find any construction or lair on this planet ? A place where your sovereign could be held prisoner ?"

The red-jewel alien answered : "Please call me Gianell, since we are now friends, Chris. And I'm sorry to answer no to your last question. Our army hasn't been able to locate Her Majesty up to now. Sam suggested that your great intelligence may help us to narrow down our search and make it this way more efficient... and quicker !"

Chris blinked. "My... great intelligence ?" His round eyes focused on Sam. Had she really made such a nice compliment about him ?

The yellow member felt herself blushing as a hot wave flooded her face. "Yeah, hum..." Her eyes searched the ceiling. "...I did say that indeed..." She finally dared to meet his sapphire look again. "... because I was hoping that you could help us find a solution..." She tried an almost shy smile. "...since you are the most clever of us all."

The blunette grinned back. "Thank you for your consideration ! Hope I will be measuring up."

Sam just nodded, her face still wrapped in the warm embrace of love.

The next minutes got Chris thinking. He started to walk to and fro, and suddenly, his face lit up while his lips stretched up, showing his teeth. "Hey, wait a minute... maybe..." He left his sentence pending, but put his hand to a small box next to his guncase. From it, he took out the A-Scan, which he switched on.

"Dude, you will be able to locate the Queen only if she's nearby. The A-Scan only works when the monsters are close to us. Which is not the case now..." the green-eyed boy observed.

"Hum, actually, we only use the A-Scan when we arrive on the spot where the aliens are located. That's _our_ way of using it. But let me show you something..."

He walked to Sam and Danny, and looked at Gianell and Desmira. All gathered around Chris, who pushed a button, then another one, a third one... and the screen's picture changed ! The moment before, it did represent a small area, but now that Chris had pushed those three buttons, there was a much larger area on the screen. It may have represented at least a good portion of the planet.

"How did you..." Danny was at a loss.

"Well, you see, I've been trying to figure out the functions of this device. I mean, those we never use. And I took some time for that the past month. That's how I managed to find the "enlarging function", as I nicknamed it. It widens the scope of search. And now..." He pressed a new button and numerous yellow dots appeared on the screen.

"Are these all the aliens of the surroundings ?" Sam asked, sensing it was indeed the case.

"Eh yes !" the tech replied. "And it goes a long way off ! Now, we can see that there are aliens scattered a bit everywhere, and that include of course your search squads. But let me check something..."

He used the cursor to get a view of what was further around, and then he stopped. "That's interesting..." he muttered. In the center of the screen was a gathering of many many yellow dots.

"What are all these ?" the General asked.

"Could it be your troops, Gianell ?" Sam suggested.

Her addressee looked at the black girl with her left eyes while her right ones remained stuck to the screen. She frowned. "Let me check the place where these dots are located..." She took a good long stare at the picture displayed before her eyes and finally shook her head. "I don't think there are any of our squads in this place. But I will make sure of that. Just give me a minute."

Gianell got to Desmira and spoke with her. Her sister replied, then shook her head, and finally let out a new answer, before heading for a horizontal panel. Desmira poured some green powder on it. Out of it emerged a few small brown pillars, while the green surface was shaping according to the landscape. When all the movements on the panel were over, Desmira analyzed the data and her look grew sterner.

She walked over to her sister and let out a few sentences, slightly shaking her head as she did so. Gianell, on her side, gently nodded and uttered single agreeing words. Finally, she concluded with a long sentence and came back to the MBC.

"Desmira has checked the positions of the troops and they are now searching east from Fic, while the mass of dots are located north. We don't have any soldiers up there. So it has to be alien enemies, like Howlers or Poisoners. It must be… some kind of nest."

Sam had listened carefully to the explanation and her mind had analyzed it swiftly. And her conclusion was to be shared next : "If there is a gathering of foes in that place, then we can logically deduce that it is some kind of enemy base. There must be a lair over there, where the monsters are all hiding. And obviously their leader is in there, pulling the strings from within. Which implies that the Queen most certainly is held in that base. That's where we have to head for now !" Her look was a decided one. The action period had come. No time to waste !

But there was one remaining point that needed to be examined, and it was Danny to draw their attention on it : "Ok, we will go there, but once we are on the spot, how do we find where Queen Lauren is ? I mean, is there a way to locate her precisely, via the A-Scan ?" And as he said so, he was staring at Chris, who was now the only one to possibly answer the question.

The smart blunette seemed to hesitate, but at last replied to his teammate : "Hum… No, I haven't found a way to limit the search to one particular alien. And believe me, I've been trying a bit of everything on this device. I can go on trying, but… I'm not sure it will be successful in the end." For sure his expression wasn't a convinced one.

Just at this moment, the door opened and the Chancellor walked in.

"I'm glad to see you are fit again, Chris !" she said in a gentle voice. "And naturally, very pleased to see you all reunited, as used to be. Things are getting better for you, and that's definitely encouraging." Her smile faded away. "I wish the situation would improve regarding Her Majesty as well…" Her tone showed sadness.

"Your Excellence, Chris managed to locate what probably is an alien base. It is located north of our city. We could see that on their scan device here." Gianell was showing the A-Scan as she spoke.

Two of Ana's eyes moved to the direction the General was showing, and met with the object the blue member was holding in his hand. And when she did so, Chris reacted and addressed her : "Yes, your Excellence… I mean, Ana, we think we have found the place where Her Majesty is being held prisoner. You can have a look on this device, you will see an accumulation of alien signals north from here. Let me show you."

He walked to her and showed her the screen, where dots were gathered in the upper part of the screen. Ana took a look and nodded. "So these are alien signals, you say ?"

"Yes, they are. And we think Queen Lauren is captive of those aliens, in what obviously is their base. The only problem is that we can't say with precision _which_ _one_ of those dots represents your sovereign. The A-Scan here can only capture general alien signals, but it doesn't make any differentiation between the diverse kinds of aliens. "

While he was explaining all this, Chris took the scan away and watched the Chancellor as she nodded in approval. Then the blue-jewel alien visibly got busy reflecting on all this, and after a moment she asked : "Can I see that scanner again, please ?"

The tech took the device to Ana, and an idea popped up in his head. Why not give her directly the A-Scan, so that she could look by herself ? She was someone important, so she deserved marks of consideration. So he just handed out the electronic stuff and simply said : "Here, take it in your hand to see it better !"

The orange creature grabbed the A-Scan and watched the screen. But immediately her four eyes got wide open in bewilderment.

"But... what happened ?" she said, a confused expression haunting her features.

"What do you mean ?" asked in return a slightly worried Sam.

"The dots... they all disappeared from the screen... all but one... did I do something wrong when I clasped your scanner ?" Two of her eyes were on Chris now, the remaining two insistently fixed on the screen.

The freckled teenager looked at the scanner then shook his head. "I don't think you did anything wrong earlier, Ana. You just took the device and merely looked at it, right ? Without touching any buttons ?"

"Yes, exactly. I didn't touch anything. I just watched the screen, that's all. So why have all those dots vanished from here ?"

The young genius couldn't find any answer to this, no matter how much he thought about it. He ended up kindly asking the Chancellor the A-Scan back, to check something. She handed it to him, and as soon as he had it in hand, all the dots reappeared on the screen.

"They are all back ! All the dots !"

"Yes ? That's really strange... Can I take your scanner again, please ? I'll be very careful, and ask you to watch if I do a wrong move."

Ana seized the object, and just like before, her face filled with utter surprise. "I don't understand... they disappeared again, except one... Is there something wrong with me ?" **(N/A : what do you think, Ana (BoS) ? Is there something wrong with you ? ...Definitely, yeah, you nuthead ! XD)**

Chris took another good look at the picture now displayed on the A-Scan. It was the same landscape as before, but only one dot was visible on the screen. The smart human frowned.

"Why do these dots vanish when you take the scanner ? And why does this last dot remain visible ?"

Sam was thinking hard as well, and something finally clicked inside her head. She walked up to Ana and Chris.

"Tell me, Chris, where is that remaining dot located exactly ?"

She earned a wondering look from her (secretly) beloved.

"What do you mean ? What's on your mind, Sam ?"

"Well, is that last dot located where the large group of dots was before ? You know, where was apparently an alien base ? Is that dot at the same place ?"

The blunette focused hard on the screen, and hesitantly replied : "Hum... I think it is, yes... (he stared some more)...It's pretty likely at the same place. But what are you thinking about ?"

"This dot got singled out twice when Ana got the A-Scan in her hands, if I understood right ?"

"Yes, Sam. But I still don't get what you mean..."

Sam took a few more seconds of reflection before continuing : "Ana, you told me earlier that you could communicate with Queen Lauren, right ?"

The Chancellor felt her heart beat faster. Something important was taking place right in this moment. Sam was obviously on a track. And now she was mentioning Her Majesty. Could she have find a way to...?

"Yes, normally. But I can't anymore, since a force is blocking me up, as I explained to you. But, Sam, what do you have in mind ?" She felt curiosity and excitement altogether.

The African-American girl smiled. "You will know in a minute, I promise. Just answer this last question : _do you have the ability to FEEL Queen Lauren's presence, physically ?_

Ana swallowed her saliva. She had never felt this thrilled. Never.

"Yes, I do."

Sam's smile widened triumphantly.

"Then, my friends, we know exactly _where_ Queen Lauren is being held inside the alien base... and we can prepare for the assault !"

**/**

**Ah ah, what do you say ? The Wheel of Fortune (or Misfortune, up to now) has turned, hasn't it ? And now, luck and success are on the MBC's side again, right ? It was about time things got much better ! A ray of hope in this story, at last !**

**Hope you liked this new one. If so, it's up to ya to let me know. To your keyboards !**


	11. Magical ways

**Hello Friends !**

**The weekend was quiet enough for me to write on. Cool, uh ? I still can update every week, if work leaves me enough time for writing. I'm afraid you can't expect quicker update than weekly, but I can still hold the pace, so better than nothing, I guess.**

**Hum, I also would like to ask you to try and write on your own stories. I'm sure you must be busy with either studies or WB (Writer's Block), but please… I'm missing your stuff, you know ! Please do your best to update quickly ! Thanxxxx in advance !**

**Now is another interesting time for our heroes. N'joy !**

**/**

**10 _ MAGICAL WAYS**

**/**

Mr Smith was watching his granddaughter. And his heart was swollen with sadness. He just couldn't bear the sight of his little Cathy lying that weak and defenceless in her bed. Such an adorable girl ! Why did the hardships always fall over the heads of the nicest persons ?

He and Katie had been checking Cathy's legs the previous hour, and had seen that the black veil had almost reached the top of her thighs. Soon half of her young body would be black. The terrible colour was spreading slowly but surely. Would their friends be back in time with the shadow ? Hope commanded to answer "yes" but objectivity to say "I'm not sure"…

_My poor Cathy ! How horrible, what happens to you ! You're the last one on this planet who would deserve such a fate ! Why you, Cathy ? WHY YOU ?_

He felt a slight pressure over his shoulder. His head turned round and his eyes met with two slanted ones who were observing him with the gentlest expression ever. A very caring and comforting look.

"Don't you worry, Hugo ! Although the black veil is progressing, I can sense that she'll be alright in the end. Believe me, my dear friend ! My 6th sense has seldom betrayed me, and last time was so long ago. Although it will take time, I am certain that her friends will be here in time. Trust me."

The old alien gave her friend a grateful look, but he couldn't get the same certainty in his own heart. He would have liked to feel as sure as Katie about Cathy's future, but he just wasn't able to. The fear, the anguish prevented it, and no matter how he wanted to believe in a positive outcome, he just couldn't feel reassured.

"I know, Katie, I know. And probably you are right, as always. But I can't seem to gain the same conviction as you. God knows why, but my heart is still wrung with anguish. I can't help dreading the worst for her. Oh Katie, how I hope that you are right and I am wrong !"

"Calm down, Hugo, please calm down. It won't help if you lose your emotional balance. I fully understand the seriousness of the situation, and believe me, I'm so sorry for poor Cathy, but we need to act with soundness and calm, otherwise there won't be anything positive left. It's already negative enough without us making it worse by cracking up and collapsing down in scare. I know it's everything but easy to do, but we _have to_, Hugo ! We _have to_ !"

The white-haired Rhapsodian let out a long deep sigh and gave another pity look at his granddaughter before turning again to his long-time friend.

"Yes, Katie, I know that you are right, as you so often have been. I know. It's so hard, so painful to see her this weak, this menaced. But I guess that I must listen to you and try to remain as calm as I can. Oh God, I'll be so happy when all of this is over and Cathy is back to normal. You have no idea !"

Just as he finished speaking, something happened with the young victim. She started to move and wince in her bed, and she suddenly grew more agitated. Her arms began to move restlessly and finally a scream came out, a long, powerful scream. Cathy's body arched up, her back and legs not in contact with the bed anymore. Only the heels and the back of her head still touched the sheet. It was like the effect of an electric shock. A really huge one.

"KATIE ! What's this ? What is happening ?" Smith's voice had never been that loud, that stressed. It was obvious he had lost his emotional balance this time.

"Oh no !" the old lady said after putting her hand on Cathy's forehead. "It's what I really dreaded. A Teran shockwave. I must get some stuff from my bag to counter the effects. Stay with her for a few seconds, Hugo. I'll be real quick !"

She went to the table where her handbag was and opened the black bag laid beside it. Hugo turned around, his face a mask of panic, and saw her rummage through that second bag. It wasn't long before she was back with a small bottle containing a dark green liquid.

"What is that shockwave, Katie ? And why does it take place ?"

"The Teran shockwave is associated to a limited number of extraterrestrial diseases, among which the shadow disappearance. It's some kind of electric shock, but its power is much bigger than electricity. And if we don't act now, Cathy will be experiencing those shockwaves regularly. It can't kill her, but it will make her suffer a lot, even if she's unconscious."

She showed the bottle to the old man.

"This is Wur elixir. It has the power of soothing bodies and bringing down all negative energies you can find in an organism. But for it to work, we'll need to apply that elixir in specific spots of Cathy's body, and I will declaim an ancient alien spell that will activate the power of the substance. Only then can it work. Here, take the bottle and pour some liquid into my palm !"

Mr Smith did as he had been told. Then Katie placed her forefinger above the tiny green pond inside her curved hand… and a drop of thick green liquid got like magnetized up to the tip of her finger ! It raised from the mass of liquid, like a crest growing higher, and finally came off, then it floated up and attached to the end of the forefinger.

Katie held out her arm and put her finger on Cathy's forehead. She took it back and Mr Smith saw that a green pattern of three dots shaped in triangle were now drawn on his granddaughter's forehead.

The blond alien was still arched up and screamed and winced terribly. Her body was tense as a piece of wood. Her hands were two fists clasped so hard that the joints were white from the effort.

The elderly lady drew the same symbol on Cathy's chest and abdomen, then on her hands and feet. When its was over, she closed the small bottle, nodded to Mr Smith with an encouraging smile, spread her arms over the tense body and closed her eyes. She remained in this position for about 30 seconds, then reopened them. Her eyes were now completely black, as if her pupils had flooded around, everywhere on the iris, making it totally black. Her arms started to shake and the old Rhapsodian knew her friend was in trance state.

Katie opened her mouth and started reciting incomprehensible words from an ancient alien language. But her voice was no longer the same : instead of her usual tone, there was now a deep, sepulchral voice who would more likely belong to a ogre rather than an old woman. That voice modification gave Mr Smith goosebumps.

"_Kyynaa zun tryyn, Wallaah edorri Xyllot !_

_Sohtt agabb nej faar soppon_

_Vuurm hyys, hyys nu ! HYYS NU ! TAAAHKK !" _

While the elderly lady was declaiming her spell, the thick green liquid started trembling, then smoke rose from each of the 21 dots drawn on Cathy's body and a distinct yet discrete hissing sound was heard. All the smoke columns rising into the air merged in the center, above the victim, and massed into a great smoky whirlpool which was revolving slowly and getting bigger and bigger by the minute.

Katie finally stopped reciting and her arms ceased shaking. Simultaneously, the last remains of smoke joined the now huge smoky whirling ball slowly rotating above the young Rhapsodian. And just then…

A giant flash of lightning lighted up the whole room, originating from the center of the smoke vortex and ending straight in the center of Cathy's chest. The tensed girl shouted the loudest scream ever, her mouth wide open, a horrible wince of pain distorting her features.

When he saw that, Mr Smith wanted to rush to his granddaughter, since he thought she had been seriously hurt and wanted to remove her body from the bed, away from the flash of lightning. But when he got passed Katie, she raised her arm quickly, which made the old man stop and look at her, taken aback.

The Minnie alien was staring straight into Hugo's eyes, her own globes still completely black, and when she spoke, her voice was still tremendously deep and hollow : "No, don't ! Trust me ! She is suffering, but it's a necessary step for her to be saved from the Teran shockwave. Just put your trust in me and you will see I didn't lie to you !"

The scaring voice echoed through the room, and this, combined to the black eyes, scared the old Rhapsodian. He was hesitating, as he wanted to save his granddaughter but was afraid of the state in which Katie was, dark eyes and thundering voice. His eyes fluttered from the elderly lady to the aching body of Cathy, and he finally decided to trust his long-time friend. But his shoulders manifestly slumped as he watched, helpless, his relative suffer on the bed.

The flash of lightning ended and Cathy fell back onto the bed. Her mouth opened and she lay there, motionless, and her still attitude reminded Mr Smith of…

"OH GOD ! She looks… oh, Cathy !" This time, the pale woman didn't make any gesture to prevent the old alien from rushing to his granddaughter. The white-haired Rhapsodian thus got quickly to the young victim and put two fingers on her neck. Yes, it was still beating. Very slowly, weakly, irregularly… but it beat, and that was the main point !

He felt a pressure on his shoulder, just like he had felt a while ago, and when his eyes met Katie's, he was this time relieved. Her eyes were back to normal, and when she spoke, it was in her usual tone.

"I'm sorry that poor Cathy had to endure this, but I'm afraid there wasn't any other way, my dear. And also, all my apologies for frightening you ! I know that I looked very scary when I was reciting this ancient spell, but that too was unavoidable. All of this wasn't a pleasing experience for you, but it was a necessary evil to cope with if we wanted to make sure Cathy wouldn't have to bear the immense suffering induced by the Teran shockwave. Your granddaughter went through difficult moments here, Hugo, but you can believe me : she won't be experiencing that shockwave again. The way to protect her is very impressive and painful, but it's also very efficient."

Hugo Smith sighed, an almost painful sigh, in which much tiredness was nestled. All this was very trying for him. And he wasn't that young anymore.

"My dear, I have no words to express you my gratitude." He suspended his sentence, and took a good look at his little Cathy. She seemed to be sleeping peacefully. He just checked her heartbeats once more, just to be sure. "It sure was very impressive and frightening, but I know it had to be done. For Cathy's sake. And I would accept anything to have her saved. She's my life, she's my reason to live. Anything to have her safe from harm !"

Katie nodded with a serious smile on her lips. "You are very brave, Hugo. I have to admire you, you know. And I'm so sorry that you are to witness all this. Maybe I should have asked you to leave the room, to avoid you that shock…"

"Don't say that, dear ! Please don't ! I wouldn't have left the room when my poor Cathy's life was at stake ! No matter how heartbreaking this could have been, I would rather have it witnessed, as you say, than to be forced to hear all this through a closed door and try to imagine what was happening."

Katie looked intently at her friend, and finally nodded. "Anyway, I'm really sorry for all this, Hugo ! But I swear Cathy won't have to go through this again. You have my word."

"Thank you again, dear ! For everything you are doing for Cathy. Thank you !"

The smile grew wider on Katie's lips. "There's nothing more normal to me, Hugo !"

After staring at each other for a moment, gratitude flowing from the old man's eyes, comfort from the elderly woman's ones, they both turned their heads and watched Cathy. She was now lying serene in her bed, breathing slower than ever, her pulse beating weakly _but surely_ in her chest…

/

"Are you saying that this dot that doesn't disappear represents the Queen ?" Ana asked Sam.

The leader looked at her with sly eyes. "I'm not 100% certain, but the chances of this being exact are high. For, if you take time to analyze it, this dot was the only one that remains on the screen when you took the A-Scan in your hands. Now, you told me that you had some mental link with Her Majesty. And I think it possible that this link did manifest itself through technology. You can sense the Queen, her presence. Or rather : you couldn't before, but you can _now_. Now that the A-Scan is there to make the "interface" between you and her. But there's more."

All were pricking up their ears as Sam gave a look around before continuing. "Which alien could that spot represent ? Certainly not a common monster, such as the Howlers or the Poisoners. Indeed, why would the scanner single out one ordinary monster out of the others ? Therefore, it has to be a "special" alien, one that is unique. And I see only two possibilities : either the chief enemy, the one guiding the others, or the Queen. And while there is no reason why you would be able to locate the main antagonist, it makes sense that you can sense the presence of Queen Lauren via the A-Scan. What do you think ?"

"Hum, yes, it seems very logical and even obvious." Chris admitted. "A sound reasoning indeed. You are right to deduce that this dot must stand for a very specific alien, one that is very powerful. And there indeed only are two aliens which correspond to this : the ruler of the enemy forces and the Queen. And given the bond that exists between you and Lauren, it seems most logical to consider that this dot, present only when you hold the device, represents Her Majesty."

Ana nodded energetically. "Your deductions are very clever and wise, they completely make sense. And I see no better explanation, therefore do I think that you are right. And if this is so, then we can without any doubt start the preparations for our journey to the North."

Two of her eyes slid to the left and focused on her right-hand female. "Your opinion, Gianell ?"

The General smiled. "My intuition hints me to your being right. I'm sure you figured out the whole thing. I can feel it in me. And I often prove correct in my intuitions, so I'm persuaded that you got it all right. And so, we can indeed get set for our mission over there."

Danny was now very excited, and after so much time spent silent, he could barely contain himself : "So, what are we waiting for ? We must go there, and quick ! The sooner we can free the Queen, the sooner she can help us find Cathy's shadow, and the sooner we can bring the shadow back and save her. She must be in such a weak state right now. We mustn't lose any more time. Let's get it started !"

Sam grinned wide. "I know someone who is quite impatient to get into live action…"

The jock sent her a sidelong glance, but his frown faded to be replaced by a frank smile. "Well, yes, I **AM** impatient to be in there ! We haven't got that much time to save Cathy, have we ?"

The tech smiled as well. "True. We'll be on the move quickly." He turned to Gianell. "How many guards will we take with us ?"

The General got thinking. "Well, we could gather probably around 30 soldiers. But we have to leave some here as well, for if our foes know we are coming with our army, they may choose to attack Fic in our absence. That's why we must leave some forces in the city. We could split the army in two groups, so that would make 15 guards with us."

The Chancellor had been reflecting much while the others were discussing. And once Gianell had finished exposing the armed forces problem, it was her turn to speak.

"I think that the best way to get into the enemy base is to use a disguise. Or, more precisely, to change our physical aspect. We have a wizard here in Fic, and he can help us transform into other creatures… like Howlers or Poisoners. This way, we can sneak in there without being considered foes, since no alien will be able to identify us. All aliens will see us like other aliens of the same kind, and not like enemies. This way, we will have the possibility to explore easily the base and locate the Queen. We will deceive our foes by changing our appearances."

The blue member was now optimistic about their mission. "Well, as things stand, we are now doing far better than before. Seems than the winds have turned, and are now pushing us forward. We can make it, for sure !"

"Very well" Gianell said "I'll have Joshua fetched for the spell." With that, she walked to her sister and briefly explained what was to be done. Desmira bowed and left the room.

Sam's eyes were now shining with confidence. "Yes, we can make it !" she stated.

/

The MBC were now gathered in the hall with Gianell, Desmira and many soldiers. They were waiting for the wizard. The Chancellor was absent this time. No one knew where she was, not even Gianell.

At last, a door opened and an old figure walked in. That Beaba was very wrinkled and his skin seemed almost see-through. He was walking with precaution, holding a long staff whose upper end was curled. And just behind that venerable person came the Chancellor. But something was changed. Ana wasn't in her white robe anymore. She had her body enclosed in an armor that looked slightly more wrought than the other Beabas's.

Gianell rushed to her and let out a frantic speech in alien language. The MBC members closed in. Ana answered in alien language, putting her hand over the General's shoulder to comfort her. But Gianell immediately retorted, and from the way she spoke, it was evident that she was trying to convince the Chancellor and that she was really worried.

Ana stared at Gianell for a moment, then two eyes aimed at the three humans who were still watching the two arguing about. She sensed that they may have guessed what all this fuss was about, and indeed, the three teammates had guessed what the matter was.

"I'm coming with you, humans !" said the blue-jewel creature.

"Yes, that's what came to my mind when you walked in the room in that armor." Chris commented. " But it will be dangerous, Ana ! You are a precious person and we can't let anything happen to you. Suppose we can't free the Queen, you will be at least here to rule the city, while if you fall in a battle... what will happen then ?"

Gianell's eyes shone with gratitude as she glanced at the tech. She immediately turned her left eyes on the orange alien, the right ones still on Chris. "Yes, your Excellence. Do you hear what he is saying ? He doesn't want you to get hurt, or worse. Our human friends are wise. I'm begging you, please stay her for your own safety !"

But her immediate superior shook her head negatively. "Gianell, I get your point, and you have all my consideration for doing your best to protect me. It goes straight to my heart. But you soldiers have sacrificed enough lives for our kingdom. You have agreed to spill your blood in the name of Her Majesty. Your courage has always impressed me. But it's time for the highest authorities of this city to take their responsibilities and help in the battles. I've always remained here in this castle, while you were out, fighting and dying for the Crown. It isn't fair. This time, I want to help you. I want to help free Her Majesty. Please, Gianell, let me come with you. Don't refuse me the honor of fighting with you !"

As she said so, her hand was squeezing gently the General's shoulder. The red-jewel alien stared for a long moment at the Chancellor, then let out a long sigh, looked at the ground for a while, then straight into Ana's eyes. "Your Excellence, I have nothing to do but obey your orders. I fully understand your motivation, and I thank you humbly for your consideration regarding our soldiers, and the high opinion you have of them. It of course will be an honor as well to have you by our side. But please let me go before you, to protect you in case an enemy attacks the front row. The last thing I would like is you to get injured."

Ana smiled. "Naturally, Gianell. You can go first. And please receive all my gratitude for accepting me in your troops. I'm very proud to be with you all to free Her Majesty !"

"Thank you, your Excellence. And we are even prouder to be honored of your presence in our ranks. We will make sure to give everything we have for Her Majesty and for you."

And Gianell bowed when she finished speaking.

Ana then called the old wizard, who closed in. "My friends, let me introduce you to Joshua. He has the ability to cure wounds and some poisons (but not the one of the Poisoners, alas), to make metamorphoses, to communicate with the dead. He uses the ancient magic of Hahli, that was once the official magic of the inhabitants of planet Nuva, far away from here. He will change our appearances. All we need to do is stand here, with the soldiers, and he will cast his spell on us."

She spoke up a bunch of words to the venerable alien, showing the MBC as she did so. The latter guessed that she was explaining the purpose of their presence of the planet, and why they needed to change their aspect.

Then Ana, Gianell, Desmira, Sam, Chris and Danny joined the armoured Beabas waiting in line and stood still.

Joshua lifted his curled staff and stretched his arms as far away from each other as he could. Then his eyes closed, and the room briskly grew dark. Some wind blew fiercely across the place, while there was absolutely no wind on the planet ! And the next minute, a blue aura emerged from the wizard. The aura then reached the staff, and the curled end flashed a bright blue. The wind blew even harsher, and the blue light exploded in numerous blue arrows which each aimed at a different person in the room. Soon, each being present in the crowd of fighters was touched by the light and felt some inner strength wrap them.

It took no more than two minutes. When it was over, almost everyone looked at the others, trying to see what had changed. But nothing had changed. Apparently.

Ana hadn't been looking at the others, for she knew that the metamorphosis wasn't visible to themselves : the change of aspect was visible only for the foes.

"But we're still the same !" Danny exclaimed.

"Your aspect hasn't changed to your own eyes, but only to our enemies' eyes. But you can know how they will see us in a mirror. There is one over there." And Ana pointed to a wall just beside them.

They all walked to the wall and looked into the mirror. And what they saw frightened them !

There, before their eyes was a group of Howlers and Poisoners, looking back at them !

/

**Gee, was this chapter huge ! I've been surpassing myself ! I honestly didn't plan to make it that long. But all the better, eh ! Hope you liked it, as always. You know how to let me know that, don't you ? ;)**

**And please, try to publish yourselves soon. I'm waiting for yooooooouuuuuu ! ;)**

**All take care ! Hugsies !**


	12. The long march

**Howdy everyone !**

**Eh yes, another great period of time needed for that ! Not my fault ! Blame it on my schedule, really ! (I've got such an hectic schedule lately, you have no idea… *sigh*) Time and time again I wanted to go on writing this, but there always came some new task around and I had to leave it aside, delaying it on and on. And there were also some personal issues that somehow dragged me down, but things are somewhat better now.**

**Thanxxxx as always for your support ! It really motivates me a damn lot !**

**And now, let's go see the troop start moving !**

**Oh, and bravo to those who had noticed that there were 21 green dots drawn on Cathy's body and 21 people in the group about to leave (15 soldiers, 3 chiefs, 3 MBC). Very observant, folks ! Well done ! It was a little trick of mine, eh eh ! ;)**

**And now, N'joy it on ! **

**/**

**11 _ THE LONG MARCH**

**/**

"No way ! I'm… I'm one of those horrible slugs ?" the jock shouted as his eyes were staring intently into the mirror.

Sam couldn't help giggling. "Ah ah, there you go, Danny Boy. You used to be more of a seducer, back in the old days on Earth, eh !" And she winked at him.

He frowned and grumbled. "Ah ah indeed, very funny, Sammy ! Just look at yourself, with this moth appearance and those huge wings. No better, I guess, eh ?"

"Hum… I still prefer this to the slug, if you'll excuse me." She smiled teasingly at him.

"Pfff… always the last word to everything, right ?" She shrugged and smiled on.

"Okay, I guess we can safely prepare to set out, can't we ?" Chris asked. And he turned his head to Ana, for of course she was to be the leader of their expedition.

The orange fox-looking creature stepped forth. "Very well. Gianell will be our guide, displaying the orders and directions. If there are some suggestions or different opinions regarding these, we can still discuss things together to know what the best solution is. Nothing is "closed" in our strategy. The main point is to find the most efficient way to proceed."

"I think you are right" Sam agreed. "Gianell is the hands-on chief here, she knows the environment better than any of us. It's logical to have her take the lead."

The red-jewel extraterrestrial nodded with a smile. "Thank you, Sam ! I will be honored to guide us through, and of course any suggestion or idea in the strategy will be welcome. And for a start, I do propose we don't walk out of the castle but use a secret exit. There may be spies around, and if they see a huge group of Howlers and Poisoners walk out altogether from the main entrance… hum, I don't know, but even if these creatures are of low intelligence, we shouldn't underestimate them. Using another exit will enable us to get out unnoticed."

"Very good, Gianell ! That's a most sensible argument !" Ana congratulated her.

The addressee of the compliment smiled. "Thank you, your Excellence."

Sam had been thinking for a moment and she decided to also make a proposal. "Listen, I would like to suggest something as well. Even if we use a remote exit, so as to avoid being spotted, there still may be some foes in the surroundings. And it would be best if we don't walk all together, in one group. I don't think slugs and moths-like creatures hang out with each other, especially in such huge groups. We are 21 people here, and why would 21 foes be sticking together ? That may attract suspicion on our group, while if we split into several groups of, say, 5 persons each, then it may just work out and the monsters maybe won't even pay attention."

"That's a clever remark too" Gianell agreed. "I think we should proceed that way. We will use the secret exit _and_ split in groups. That should do, most likely."

Ana nodded with a satisfied grin. "Good ! I see we start in the best way. Let's do our best to keep it like this !"

And the bunch of Howlers and Poisoners left the depths of the mirror, under the lead of a decided Poisoner.

/

It was a long, dark underpass they were following. Its entrance was masked by a curtain hanging behind Ana's bed. As for its exit… they would be soon finding out where it was.

The light of their torches threw gigantic shadows on the wall, which could have belonged to such enormous monsters, while they in fact were properties of rather medium-size beings. But beings who now _had_ the aspect of monsters to every creature but themselves.

"Gee, I've been in so many funnier places before" said Danny, in an ironical rather than worried tone.

"I'm sure you have, as have I" replied Chris, whose recent interest in speleology could find a pretty nice ground to flourish, down there.

They took a last bend to the left and Gianell announced : "We are about to get out now. It's right at the end of this tunnel."

And indeed it seemed that there were some splinters of light shattered in a distance, further on.

The troop proceeded a bit more and reached the place. Instead of a rocky wall, the end of the tunnel consisted of a vegetation curtain hanging thick before them, with bits of light emerging in some places.

"We will now have to put out our torches and walk in separate groups under these plants. The first group will have to state whether coast is clear or not. And now, be very careful : as long as we are walking alone, without any enemy in the surroundings, we can talk, but in a low voice, because the creatures on these planet have a rather accurate hearing. Now, should there be any Howler, Poisoner or any other monster in sight, we will have to communicate by telepathy. I will now repeat the instructions in alien language for our guards."

The General took the time to utter a bunch of alien sentences, to which the soldiers all nodded, then she turned to the MBC members again. "Have you already used telepathy ? Do you know how it works ?"

Sam was about to answer, but Danny was quicker : "Hum, we have never actually tried it ourselves, but Cathy's cousin gave us an insight of that."

Chris shook his head. "You're wrong, Dude : that's mindreading. You should not confuse it with telepathy."

"Well, it's the same thing, overall, eh ?"

"Not sure someone who can decipher thoughts can necessarily communicate via thinking, and vice versa. I think it's not related. In my opinion, one can have either talents, both or none of them. But there is still a distinction to me."

Ana gestured approvingly. "Exactly. We can use telepathy, but not mindreading. The only Beaba to have both these abilities is Her Majesty."

It was Sam's turn to speak : "Well, regarding telepathy, you have to keep silent and focus on your thoughts and what you precisely want to mean, then focus on the addressees of these thoughts and concentrate to "send the thought". Is that right ?"

"That's correct, Sam" Ana replied "It's indeed the way it works. We will try it once outside, but should one of you have difficulty with it, please do not phrase anything aloud, just wait a bit more and whisper to someone once we are far away from the enemies."

"We will do that" the tech agreed.

Gianell took back the lead. "Alright. I'll walk out with the first group. Please Chris and Danny, join me with Desmira and Takkilion. Sam, I would appreciate if you would stay with Her Excellence. I need someone both very sensible and very athletic to protect her, and you have these two qualities at your best. You shall go with three other guards. I will form the rest of the teams."

She spent the next minute gathering the group in 5 parts of 5 members each, except for the last one, where a supplementary soldier was, because of their being 21 people altogether.

Once this was done, Gianell put our her torch and started under the vegetation curtain. Chris and Danny followed, then came Desmira, and last Takkilion.

They emerged in a desolate land where some fog had settled. Neither any movement nor any sound to be noticed. It looked that nothing was there, save for the landscape elements they could make out in a short distance. Coast indeed seemed to be clear, but Gianell took all her time to squint her eyes everywhere around, both eyes of a same side moving together, then the two other eyes together. And when she deemed it safe enough, she stepped back underneath.

"As far as I can tell, there is no enemy in sight. You can follow me."

All groups emerged in the foggy air. The light seemed to be halfway between night and day, as if it was dawn now. Everything but reassuring. Not much light, and visibility bounded by that haze… it seemed like omens of menace. Possibly of trap, somewhere…

"Right, there is no one around, or so it appears…" Gianell said in a medium voice, avoiding to raise it, in case some monster could be wandering closeby. "Now, we will have a look at Chris's scanner and determine the direction to follow. Then we will leave one group after another, leaving at least 5 minutes between the departures, to make sure we aren't too close and thus won't be identified as a troop. Does this sound alright to you ? Any suggestion ? Anything is welcome. I speak as a soldier who's used to making up strategies, but I'll always listen to what you have to bring up. Just let me know…"

She repeated all of it in Beaba language, then gave a look around, waiting for someone to add something or just confirm that they were all okay with her directions. They looked at each other in silence. Sam's eyes met Ana's.

"What do you think, Sam ? Does that sound alright to you ?"

"Yes, Ana, it seems a good strategy to me. Let's do it that way ! Now, Chris, take the A-Scan out and let's check if something is lurking around, then where we must head to !"

"Right, here it is !" the tech replied as he took the device out and glanced at the screen.

There were a few dots but they were remote enough. No immediate danger was about to menace them.

"Good news : coast is clear... for now. Now we must check where the Queen is located. Ana, would you please hold this as you did before ?"

The Chancellor approached and grabbed the A-Scan the blue member was handing her, and immediately all bright dots left the screen. All but one. Gianell considered the place the dot was shining at.

"Mmmmh... this is north from here. It will take some time to reach. And are there any enemies on the way ?"

"For that, I will have to take back the scanner, since only Queen Lauren – or rather, the dot which probably represents her – is on the screen when Ana holds the device. Your Exc... I mean, Ana, could I please take it back, so that we can view the other aliens around ?"

"Here you are, Chris !" said the orange creature as she gave the small machine back to him. He took and looked carefully at what was now displayed. Then he pushed a button and a small red arrow, head down, appeared on the screen, right in a mass of yellow dots.

"So, this red arrow stands for the A-Scan, and the dots surrounding it are of course all the Beabas. Now, we can see that there are two groups of aliens located north of us. We will meet them on our way... unless we make a detour to avoid them ?"

His eyes were coming and going between Sam and Gianell, the two strategists of their group.

"What do you think, Sam ?" asked the General. "Better to avoid them, no ?"

"I think so. As long as the bend we don't take too much time. We really have to get there quickly. We haven't got days before us. Just a certain amount of hours..."

This being said, they all set out in direction of the North.

The foggy landscape was so silent that they couldn't help feeling some trap laid somewhere. They also had a strange impression... as if they were being observed. But when Chris checked on the A-Scan, nothing showed up. Still, the unpleasing sensation that there was a mysterious presence didn't fade away. All this silence around them... The only sound raising into thin air was their steps as they kept walking. But since they were walking slowly and discretely, to avoid being heard, even that unique sound was rather low.

After what seemed like an eternity, Chris checked on the electronic gadget and saw that a first large group of dots was now close to them.

"If we choose to avoid them, we have to make our move now. Afterwards, we will probably be too close to change direction without them spotting us."

"Why don't we go right through their group ? We'll waste less time. Straight line is always better." Danny proposed in a decided tone.

"Hum, yes, but it's also more dangerous !" Sam analyzed. "If we can avoid meeting foes, we should take this option. For if we find ourselves among them and then make some noise – like e.g. sneezing – they will know we're not really monsters and we will have to fight them, which also will take us time. Moreover, we may lose soldiers in the battle, and we'll need all our forces once inside the basis. Seems to me a detour wouldn't be that much time-consuming, and it would be way safer."

"Your wisdom and reason are remarkable, Sam !" Ana praised. "You and Gianell have a lot in common. I think your arguments are very convincing." She cast a look to her right-hand female to gain her opinion.

"Her Excellence is right. You have a great analytic mind, Sam. And I had the same idea as you regarding the necessity to avoid fights now, as it will be way more perilous within the base, hence the need to save our forces for that last part of the journey."

Danny sighed. "Okay, once again everybody thinks differently from me. Right. Let's do it your way, but we must hurry. There has to be enough time left to find Cathy's shadow !"

Chris saw the concern on his features and felt sorry for him. "Don't worry, Dan', we'll save her, even if we have to leave all our strength in the battle."

The red member gave him a grateful look. "Thanks for the support, Dude !"

Gianell looked behind and saw the scattered groups closing in. "Come on, let's go ! We must remain distant from the others, not to raise suspicions !"

The first group started again, and the second one followed a few minutes after. The troops started for a large bend to the left, making their way behind what seemed dunes. Light brown streams weaved a wet web in that area. Gianell advised that they were to be spanned over, since the liquid, which looked liked melted chocolate, was in fact nefarious enough to cause severe burns which lasted a rather long time.

The teams proceeded carefully and soon could come back to the original itinerary. They were silent for some time. The landscape changed : they were now entering a thick forest. The trees consisted of very twisted shapes bearing purple leaves, and some dark green bushes were growing, every now and then. It recalled the MBC of the wood they were walking through before being attacked by the slugs, short after their arrival.

Chris checked the A-Scan again and advised that the second alien group was not far now. "I'm not sure, but if this forest is a large one, we may even encounter them in here…"

Gianell thought for a while, gathering the infos she had, then she answered : "If I recall correctly, it's an important vegetal space on our planet. Therefore, it could be that we come across those monsters in here, yes !"

Chris got an alert face and spoke on a very serious tone. "That means that we may have to communicate by telepathy very soon. For it's not sure that we will be able to change our itinerary this time : this forest seems very thick and I'm everything but convinced we can make our way through those "walls of vegetation", you know…"

Danny had listened and he felt a tad uneasy about it. "That means we'll have to use our thoughts to communicate, right ? Is it tricky to do ?"

Gianell smiled. "No, not at all" she replied in a comforting voice. "All you have to do is choose to whom you want to "talk inwardly" and direct your thoughts to this or these persons. You have to be very focused to do that. If something draws your attention while you're trying to do it, the communication bond will be left pending until you can fully focus again on it."

"Hum… that doesn't sound easy…" the scarred boy remarked in a skeptical tone.

"From what Gianell just said, you have to pay attention to two elements : be focused on communication and direct your thoughts at the right persons. If you meet these two conditions, there is no reason things should get problematic" the geek intervened.

"Mmmmmh, okay…" the jock replied. But one could see he wasn't completely convinced.

They walked a few more minutes in silence, watching their surroundings. Then the tech stiffened as his eyes locked on the screen.

"Careful, we are very close now !" Chris informed. "We may have them face us any moment. Time to stop talking and communicate by telepathy."

All five members of the first group grew completely silent, and the red-jewel alien decided to warn Ana, Sam and the rest of the troop that monsters were now within their scope. So she focused, her eyes all still, staring intently before them, and she released her thought.

_(Gianell)_ _Your attention, everyone : we must start using telepathy NOW, since Chris just advised us that the second alien group is really close now. We should come across them any minute. Please remember to communicate ONLY by thought, and not utter any word from this moment on. It's very important to remain silent, or else our cover may be blown !_

The General sent that thought to Ana and all MBC, then she did the same in alien language for the soldiers. There was a short while where nothing else came, then a thought could be sensed in the humans' minds as well as Gianell's.

_(Ana) Thank you, General ! We will all pay attention now. Beabas are familiar with telepathy, but once again, should any of you humans have difficulty with it, just wait until no monster is around then we'll fix it. Don't hesitate to inform Gianell or myself._

And right when the Chancellor had finished thinking this, a group of Howlers started to crawl up on the road.

There were bushes everywhere on the sides, so it was difficult to retreat anywhere. They had to face danger and confront it bravely.

_(Gianell) LOOK OUT ! There they come ! Please all, remain calm and avoid fidgeting !_

_Whenever we're nearby we'll judge how to behave, but make sure to remain collected !_

The Howlers slowly advanced and came to a stop. One of them raised its head and directed the white circle in the center of its head towards Danny. It remained in that position for a moment, then opened its mouth and let out a horrible shriek.

The second team, with Ana and Sam, froze in a short distance from the first group. They didn't dare to move on, but observed intently the sequence of events.

The red member felt himself stiffen as he watched the horrid creature shrieking at him. Was that thing menacing him ? Was it about to attack him ?

That's when he heard Gianell's voice inside his head.

_(Gianell) Please stay calm, Danny ! Don't panic ! That Howler is not willing to attack you ! It's just a way to…hum, greet you, could we say. We have already seen those slugs shriek at each other before continuing their respective way, so we deduced it was like their own way of acknowledging their presence and identity. But you should answer the Howler, or else it may appear suspect or hostile to it, and we must avoid to blow our cover at **any** cost !_

Danny wasn't sure that he understood all of it, but he was especially focused on the last part of it : he should _answer_ the Howler. But how would he do ? He hadn't got a clue, and therefore he needed to ask Gianell. Which meant he had to use telepathy. And he didn't feel too confident about it.

But he _had_ to.

He did his best to concentrate on what he wanted to say, and looked intently at the General, to make sure he was directing his thought at her. When he felt ready, he tried to unwind it and let it pass on to Gianell. And he managed to do it without problem.

_(Danny) Gianell, what do I do ? How do I answer the Howler ? I can't shriek ! How does it work to reply to it ?_

He had succeeded in answering but couldn't be aware of it, not until the addressee of the mental message sent a thought back.

_(Gianell) Don't worry, Danny ! You **can** actually reply by shrieking. The metamorphosis you all underwent isn't just physical : you all can in fact use the same communication means as the creatures you like to our foes. That means that if you're a Howler, you can shriek like one, and if you're a Poisoner, you can hiss like one. All you have to do is focus on your throat and on the creature at the same time, then open your mouth, and you will shriek like that slug. Take your time and do it._

But just then, the monster shrieked a second time, louder this time, and thus did the green-eyed boy conclude that the slimy was getting impatient to be greeted back. Therefore, Danny focused hard, staring at the slug, and finally opened his mouth.

"RAAAAAAAGH !"

What the Jock uttered wasn't human. It was something animal, something monstrous. The scream of a beast, not of a man.

Chris felt a shiver shake him as he heard this. Same thing for Sam, who was standing a little way behind her two teammates. They didn't expect _that_ !

Danny stood there, completely astonished at what had just taken place, not believing any of it. Had he just… shrieked ? Made the same sound as that blob there, in front of him ? He felt himself getting paler and shivering a bit.

The black slug considered him for a moment, then shrieked again and slowly slid away.

_(Chris) You okay, Dan' ?_

The spiked-hair boy flinched when he heard the voice in his head. Then he concentrated and answered.

_(Danny) Yeah, but honestly I wasn't expecting **that** !_

Another voice echoed in his mind.

_(Sam) Danny... are you alright ?_

_(Danny) Yes, I am. But this shrieking thing freaked me out. I mean, I can express myself just like those things ! Can you believe that ?_

_(Sam) It's part of the metamorphosis, I'm sure. Don't worry, it will be fine. Just make sure to keep cool-headed and not betray yourself when a monster is close to you. We absolutely must remain under cover._

_(Danny) Hum... okay, I'll do my best. Thanks for your concern, Sam._

_(Sam) Sure thing, Buddy. _(she widened the scope of her thought) _Hey everyone, I think we could go on now. The Howlers seem to be passing by now. I guess the one which screamed at Danny must somehow have been the leader of the group, hence his greeting the one he thought was the leader of our group. But now, we can walk on, right ?_

_(Ana) The path is clear, so I take it we can safely proceed. _

_(Gianell) Exactly. Let's go on and find the exit to that forest ! _(she then asked her troops to move on).

Soon, they were out of that creepy place and found themselves in front of dark orange marshes.

Danny gave a look around and, seeing no alien in sight, phrased his though aloud.

"Hum, how are we gonna cross these ?"

Chris immediately shushed him. "Shhhhh, Danny !" he said in a low, upset voice. "Don't speak ! Use telepathy !"

"But there are no monsters around !" protested his friend.

The geek didn't reply but pointed to the sky. The jock followed the direction and blenched.

Two Poisoners were flying in a distance, in large, idle circles. They weren't closing in but could actually be within earshot. Therefore, telepathy remained the rule.

The second group, including Ana and Sam, had just arrived. They joined the first team, while Gianell ordered the rest to wait in the back, and always in separate units.

_(Chris) How can we go through these marshes, Gianell ?_

_(Ana) I'll answer, if you don't mind. I have the power to create a path through that area. It won't be a problem._

The Chancellor stepped by the bank of the first muddy pool and put her hand down, palm facing the dark orange liquid. A blue shimmering cloud emerged from her hand and started to float down in a spiral pattern. When it reached the marsh, it got solid and yielded a kind of blue tile. Ana raised her hand in a circling movement and the cloud spread further, creating new blue segments of solid matter.

When the orange alien laid her hand down, a narrow blue path was formed before them, until the center of a pool. It was left incomplete at that place, and needed to be built on.

_(Ana) I'll have to walk first, I'm afraid, Gianell, because I need to go on forging that path and I must be right in front of that blue way to do that. I can't from the rear. But you can watch my back, remaining right behind me._

_(Gianell) I will do that, your Excellence. Please be very careful and tell me if anything seems suspect to you._

They walked for a moment on the blue path, Ana forming it as she advanced, the others following. It lasted that way until the first two teams reached a solitary mound. From up there, they could see another part of land right behind. Big blades of black grass were growing nearby, and some mountain range could be perceived, in a distance.

The MBC craftsman took out the A-Scan and referred to it. And his eyes widened imperceptibly. He focused to communicate with the rest of the two main teams.

_(Chris) We are on the spot ! Right on the spot ! The dots representing us are in the middle of the yellow dots' group. I can tell by the position of the arrow. Therefore, we should be in the center of the base right now ! But... I don't get it ! There's nothing here !_

_(Danny) We're in the middle of nowhere, Dude. Are you sure your thing works correctly ?_

_(Chris) Listen, I-_

_(Sam) Guys ! No fight !_ (she had been addressing only Chris and Danny, but then, she started communicating with the whole crew)_ I think that the A-Scan is working perfectly. So if the lair is really here, somewhere, I guess its entrance is hidden._

_(Gianell) Good guess, Sam ! Those who created that base probably wanted to protect from attacks by concealing the main entrance. Very smart ! We must now find where it is._

All 21 fighters started searching the surroundings, looking for any sign that would show evidence of a hole, a cave or something similar. They walked up to the dark grass and began looking everywhere, but no clue could be shed light on. It was really frustrating.

Suddenly, Sam stiffened. Some blades of grass were moving just by her. She froze. A Howler came crawling out, spotted her and slid in her direction. When it was right in front of her it stopped and...

"RAAAAAAAGH !"

_What a horrible shriek, really. I hate it !,_ thought Sam. But she had to reply, to avoid raising suspicion. So she opened her mouth, but let out a different sound, since she had the appearance of a Poisoner, not a Howler.

The slug kept its white circle aimed at her, as if it was staring at her and obviously hesitating about what to do next. It seemed somewhat puzzled that he didn't get the same sound in response. _Howlers and Poisoners probably don't often communicate with each other..._, she thought.

But the blob then turned away and slowly crawled on in direction of the marshes.

The MBC leader sighed and turned her gaze to the place where the slimy had emerged from. She took a few steps and bent down, just in front of the giant blades. Then she parted the latter and...

_(Sam) Please all come here ! _

They were soon around her and could see what she wanted to show them.

Behind the thick vegetation was a hole. It wasn't big enough for a human to walk fully upright, but may be just high enough for one to make it bent forward. It wouldn't be very comfortable, but at least, crawling could be avoided.

_(Sam) I bet we have found what we were looking for. I saw a slug come out of here, so I take that hole to be one of the ways out of the base. It's time for us to get in and find Queen Lauren and Cathy's shadow. And also to discover who is pulling the strings in the shadows..._

**/**

**At last ! Damn, my fingers are full of blisters this very moment, and bleeding all over the keypad !**

**...**

**But no, of course they're not ! ;P Yet I must admit I got somehow crazy with that chappy, stretching it to no end. I promise I'll try to be more reasonable for the next one ! *crosses fingers in his back***

**I would like to seize the occasion to thank Blood-of-Silver and even more BeachBabe123 for publishing new chapters. Girls, I had been waiting for these... and started getting older, with a long beard and all... XD**

**Masterminor, TheDannyWTF, regarding your stories, I'm STILL waiting ! *glares, then stops and winks***

**Thanxxxx again for reading and reviewing ! And please go on updating !**

**Oh, wait ! Since I just published, I'm number 1 in MBC stories again, for the sake of updating ! YAAAAAY !**

**Anyway, take care and good luck wz yr own stuff, Dudes ! So long ! 8D**


	13. First steps into darkness

**Good morning/afternoon/evening ! (delete whichever does not apply :)**

**After such a mammoth chapter as the previous one, I told myself I should try to slow down a bit. I mean, for the past 3 chapters, I've been writing always more : 3000 word-range, 4000 word-range, 5000 word-range ! Ain't that insane ? I must have got the Russian writer's syndrome… (Russians DO write a lot !)**

**Anyway, all my gratitude goes to you for your feedback. I'm glad to receive such positive reviews from you all. You all ROCK !**

**Special thanks to Blood-of-Silver : thanks to you ;D I've got at least one review for each very chapter. You're the coolest, Girl ! :]**

**Here comes the great adventure within the base.**

**N'joy ! :)**

**/**

**12 _ FIRST STEPS INTO DARKNESS**

**/**

It was a long underpass, but far less comfortable than the one they had been following to exit the castle of Fic. This one here was wet, cold and the "ceiling" was lower, which forced the troop to walk bent forward, making their progression somewhat slower than it should be.

Gianell was walking first, followed by Chris and Danny, Desmira and Takkilion coming last. They were lit by a tiny luminescent square Ana had created for them and which was now hovering in front of Gianell. Despite its reduced size, it cast much light around, and all could see pretty good what the long tunnel looked like.

The sound of falling drops echoed around them, in a continuous auditory leitmotiv. There wasn't any other sound as they progressed in the darkness. So, not much had changed since their long march in the deserted landscape of the Dark Planet. The only actual modification was that unexpected dampness, which really stood out, given that the MBC hadn't seen any water or liquid since their arrival on that planet.

The tunnel started to go down and, after a few more minutes of silent walk, they could finally see some light down there. Gianell made sure to put out the artificial light which had been leading them here, and the first group emerged out of the underpass.

They were in a medium-size room where nothing could be found : no furniture, no device, really _nothing_ ! It was an empty place. The door was wide open, invisible to them... unless there was no door at all ?

The General made a sign indicating that the rest should wait, then she quickly reached the door and glanced outside. She remained in this spying position for long seconds, then returned to her four teammates.

_(Gianell) There are creatures outside, but none is coming that way. We may have some time left. Given that we are now in the base, we need to set a strategy to explore efficiently the premises. And for that, we need to be all gathered, so that everybody can hear how we will do. That's why I'd like that we wait until all of us are present in this room._

And soon they all were. Twenty-one fighters determined to save a Queen and recover a friend's shadow. Twenty-one ready to give everything they had to reach these two goals, no matter how perilous it would be.

_(Gianell) I've been taking a peek outside, and it turns out there are three paths on the lower floor : one on the right, one on the left and one straight on. I suggest three groups investigate these corridors. The last group should check what's opposite these paths, and also follow any passage if there is some in this direction. Does that sound okay to you ? Any suggestion ?_

She repeated the whole thing in Beaba language. The soldiers nodded, relying as always on their leader. They knew their General could find the right tactic no matter the situation.

_(Ana) It does sound perfectly thought-up to me. _

The Chancellor then peered at the MBC, each in turn, her four eyes soon settling on the black member. Who acquiesced as well in approval of the plan proposed.

_(Gianell) Good. Then we'll leave this room each group in turn and get down to the three entrances of the corridors, then the last group will come down and explore the right part of the room, the one that's right under us._

Once again, the instructions were repeated in alien language, to which everyone nodded as proof of their understanding. And only then did the first team walk out of the room.

The place they were now in wasn't made of rock, but of some black matter that was so solid that it reminded the boys of concrete. The shapes of the room were very angular. In fact, there didn't seem to be any curves at all in there. As if the one who had designed all this didn't like them... or had a pretty severe, authoritarian nature. One not to mess with...

The team followed a circular path down and soon reached the lower floor. They walked to the side, to remain unnoticed, and stopped to have a look around.

There were two Poisoners coming down from the left hallway and three Howlers crossing the room to reach the right path, in which they soon disappeared. Two guards were keeping watch at each of the three entrances.

On the other side, where the last troop was supposed to investigate, was a huge black gate with two horizontal bars and two vertical ones. It seemed obvious that no exiting was possible on that side. Therefore did Gianell inform the leader of the fourth group that it was useless trying in that direction and that the best thing to do was to split the six guards of that group in three parts, each one choosing a path to follow after the first three teams had all entered their designated corridor. She received agreement from the said leader.

_(Gianell) I propose we take the left one._

_(Chris) Yes, let's do that._

But before they could actually make a step forward, a running figure rushed out of the middle entrance. It was a fish-looking creature. The two guards tried to grab him but the runner was too quick. He could make it until the center of the room but no further.

A gigantic shadow appeared on the ground, right where the fish-looking alien was, and that shadow grew larger in no time. The future victim looked up, but... too late !

The next minute, an enormous winged monster knocked the fugitive down on the floor and grabbed his body in huge red claws. That monster was dark brown and had scales all over its body but the head, which was covered with grey fuzz. Its eyes were shining a bright green, and from its beak emerged four black tongues which wrapped around the neck of the now prisoner creature.

The latter tried to fight the long tongues off, screaming his lungs out, but couldn't resist long. The black flesh snakes tightened around the victim's neck.

But just then the guards came over and yelled orders, gesturing frantically before the monster's eyes. The huge winged being didn't move for several seconds, then let out a high-pitched screeching and released its deadly wrap from the fish-like prisoner, who instantly swallowed air like was it his last moments of existence (and it indeed had been a close one...).

The guards shouted other words and pointed their forefingers up. The scaled demon shook its head wildly, then hollered and took off. It flew to the top of the room and hung upside down from a beam, wrapped in its wings, like a bat, its green eyes spying the ground. It was patiently waiting for another prey to catch in its lethal embrace.

The vigilantes imprisoned the fugitive in a dark grey ring, which visibly constricted his body, and dragged him back to the entrance he had fled from.

Danny and Chris felt coldsweat soaking their backs, and even the courageous General was shocked from the sight of the horrible monster and its stifling tongues. And now that dreadful creature was up there, above their heads, watching the whole room.

_(Chris) Damn, what... what was that thing ?_

_(Danny) Some very bad news for us, I'd say. Man, I'm so scared to walk forth now !_

_(Gianell)Friends, I know how you feel about it. It's very scary indeed. But I take this monster to be a guardian, one to watch over this room here and make sure no one can exit through the main gate. It should therefore logically attack only fugitives and assailants. But since we have appearances of standard aliens, it shouldn't try to mug us. That is, as long as we remain silent and that our cover isn't blown._

_(Danny) Hum, easier said than done..._

Another thought, one that didn't originate from their group, worked in.

_(Sam) We just saw what happened. Be very careful as you cross that room to reach the entrances ! You should really behave as normally as you can, without hesitation or fear movement. Something tells me that demonic creature can sense fear. Act natural !_

_(Gianell) Yes, we will do our best. But, on your side, get ready to intervene if something happens, as I'm not sure we five can defeat it, let alone with the guards coming by._

_(Sam) Alright, we'll be watching and bracing. Good luck ! We are with you !_

Desmira and Gianell exchanged a few thoughts, the General advising her sister and Takilion to act as normally as possible, for showing fear could prove fatal. And after a last thought emitted, the five fighters gathered their courage and started for the left path.

Covering the distance from the wall to that entrance seemed like walking in a menacing open space, say like in a desert, while hungry vultures are flying in circles overhead. And getting always closer and closer, for the final raid...

Finally, the walk led them to the left corridor. They cast a cautious eye on the guards who in return observed them with what seemed suspicious looks. These looked liked huge lizards, but with dark brown skin, green eyes and a beak... just like that horror now hanging from the top of the large room.

But nothing alarming occurred and soon MBC and Beaba's could go on deeper within the base.

As soon as they were through, Ana sent a thought to the group, but addressing Gianell in particular.

_(Ana) Is everything alright, General ? Do you think the guards suspected anything or did it go smooth ?_

The answer could be sensed in both Ana's and Sam's heads, as the red-jewel alien wanted the other strategist of the team to remain "in the loop".

_(Gianell) Yes, your Excellence. Everything went fine. At least, apparently. We made sure to remain silent as we stepped in front of the watchmen. The main thing was to stay cool-headed and avoid any hesitation or fear sign. I think you can now go yourselves._

The Chancellor turned her focus on Sam, but kept Gianell within scope.

_(Ana) From what the General said, we could now make our own move. Is that alright with you ?_

_(Sam) Of course. I will go first, if you allow me to : like Gianell said earlier, it's better to keep somebody trustworthy and fit in front of you, to avoid you getting hurt from any frontal attack._

_(Ana) Please do. And thank you for your kind consideration, Samantha !_

_(Sam) It's normal. Now, let's go !_

Ana send alien thoughts to the rest of the crew, to inform them they were going and would choose the middle path to explore, and asked the third team to take the right entrance. She finally repeated to the leader of the remaining group to split into three bunches which would each take one of the three "roads", to follow the three main groups. He nodded.

Sam walked in the calmest possible way, her eyes often glancing up, to the center of the room, in the dark of which the monster hung, ready to attack anytime. But for the moment, nothing was moving up there, so it looked like things would go as planned.

Once the five fake aliens reached the lower floor, they stopped for a short while and gazed around them to see what the room was like. They spotted the huge black gate, with its vertical and horizontal bars, which seemed pretty tricky to open. But all realized that there was no passageway in that direction, so they soon restarted and made their way to the middle corridor. The guards there also considered them with a critical eye, but none made any movement to prevent the crew from going on. So Sam, Ana and the rest of them successfully continued past the watchmen and on in the next hall...

Some while after, the third team left the room they had arrived in earlier and followed the circular ramp down to the lower level.

And even later on, the last group split in three groups of two men, each of them leaving the "hiding room" after some wait, to make sure the soldiers down there wouldn't suspect anything.

And soon, things were back to normal in that entryway, without any movement or sound. Yet, although nothing so out-of-the-way had happened (save for the recapture of a prisoner who had managed to fool security forces, who knows how...), things in fact had changed. For there were now intruders inside the base...

/

_(Ana) I don't like it, Sam. I really don't like it. Even a chancellor can be worried, sometimes, it seems..._

_(Sam) What is the matter, Ana ? Why are you worried ?_

_(Ana) Did you take time to glance at the guards when we walked past them ?_

_(Sam) I did, yes. What was there to notice, tell me ?_

_(Ana) Did you see that symbol on their chests ?_

_(Sam) The red reverse trident with two stars ?_ **(A/N : a reverse trident is one pointing its spikes down... and if ya don't know what a trident is... too bad for ya ! XD)**

_(Ana) Yes. Well, you can't know this before I actually tell you about it, but the red reverse trident used to be Hathho's symbol. Only, there weren't two stars by its sides._

_(Sam) But you told us Hathho had been certified dead ! Unless, of course... someone managed to bring him back to life. You let us know some had that power in the universe... _

_(Ana) Since we destroyed his remains on the spot, technically, no one can raise him from the dead. But it could be that someone is using his symbol, and modified it with those stars in order to make a distinction with Hathho's own "trademark"._

_(Sam) You also evoked the hypothesis of a hidden child._

_(Ana) It's a possibility, indeed. We can't know at this point, and need to wait longer to find out. We shall soon discover who is the one behind all this..._

/

Gianell was walking first, as always, her eyes moving incessantly to check the surroundings and thus be prepared for anything coming their way.

Second came Danny, who was rather impatient to go through all those halls and finally find either Cathy's shadow or the Queen. This actually brought an idea to his mind, at some point when he was wondering which of the two they would find first.

_(Danny) Hey, Chris, why don't you take out your A-Scan and tell us where the Queen is ?_

The thought was addressed to Chris only, but the latter replied involving Gianell.

_(Chris) Because Sam has the A-Scan. I gave it to her for logic's sake : only Ana can make Queen Lauren appear on the screen when she holds the device. Therefore, since we are looking for Lauren, better give the scanner to whoever can help locate her. I programmed the A-Scan in order to have the base's premises displayed, and not the whole area, like was the case before._

_(Danny) Makes sense. Too bad we actually don't have a scanner to locate Cathy's shadow as well. Darn, I just wish we had one ! It would make things way easier and we would spare much time... which would be appreciable, since we don't have that much time left !_

_(Chris) I understand, Danny, I understand. But don't worry, we're gonna make it. The MBC never misses, as you say, right ?_

_(Danny) Yeah, that's true : it never does ! I know we'll succeed eventually !_

They were now coming to a "fork" : one way went right and taking a right bend, the other one went to the left, in straight line.

_(Chris) Which way ?_

_(Gianell) Mmmh... Since there are two other soldiers coming our way, I suggest we wait for them and continue to explore all together._

_(Danny) We could split our group in two to check both roads simultaneously._

_(Gianell) We could, but that will weaken our group, and in case there's a fight, it would be preferable to be numerous, in order to avoid being outnumbered._

They waited for a long moment, and finally the remaining two arrived. Gianell asked Desmira to liaise with them and see how it had been. The General wanted her sister to have more responsibility, since she had been doing pretty much everything up to then and didn't want her relative to feel useless in the group.

Desmira questioned the newcomers and reported that everything had gone fine.

Gianell then made her pass on the word that they were going to the right all together. And after this information was transmitted, they started for the right branch of the "fork".

But no sooner had they reached the corner where the road took a turn than some danger materialized.

Gianell almost bumped into a Poisoner which was pushing a light blue hovering rectangular plate. The General stepped aside quickly to avoid the shock, and the monster screeched at her before going on with its task.

Danny and Chris both had got anxious when they had seen the reaction of the Poisoner. But they felt relieved to note that the beast was too busy with its own stuff to start a quarrel.

The five members of the troop remained on the left as they made their way in the corridor. It was not a choice but an obligation, since several Poisoners pushing hovering plates were leaving from a door at the end of the tunnel and returning on their own left side (which was the MBC's and Beaba's right side).

There were no side doors in that path, only that large two-part door automatically splitting open every now and then to give way to the monsters. Above the door, a red flashing light kept alternately increasing and decreasing its glow, almost in slow motion.

The last Poisoner left the room, and Gianell stopped and watched the creature turn the corner.

Once it had, she entered the mysterious room, followed by the rest of the team.

"Damn !" Danny uttered. Before he could say anything else aloud, Chris had put his hand over his friend's mouth, the forefinger of his other hand upright over his own mouth.

_(Chris) Danny, please ! I know you're shocked, and so am I, but we must keep silent ! Just one single word heard by our foes and we're unmasked ! Please, use telepathy only !_

_(Danny) Okay, okay, sorry ! It's just that this is... so..._

On the floor, further on the right, was a huge heap of bodies. There were Beaba's, but also fish-looking creature like the one who had tried to escape earlier, and others looking like jellyfishes, like eagles and even... Rhapsodians !

_(Chris) But what's going on in here ?_

_(Gianell) I'm not sure but... it looks like they're dead._

Desmira then sent a thought while pointing to one of the corpses piled up there. Gianell "listened", then watched where her sister was pointing, then back at her sister and nodded, sending a "thank thought" back.

_(Gianell) Desmira noticed something on that body there. Can you see it ?_

Chris checked out in the direction she was showing, then frowned and got closer to verify if he had seen right. He bent over the said body and his eyes widened. He _had_ seen right...

_(Chris) It's the Black Veil !_

Danny, who reminded perfectly what it was, and what it meant since it had started invading Cathy, quickly stepped by the tech.

_(Danny) You're right, Chris. It's that bloody black thing ! But if it's there, does it mean that these bodies have lost their shadows as well ?_

_(Gianell) Good remark, Danny ! It should indeed mean that. Let's check !_

The General approached an unconscious alien, grabbed one of his arms and raised it, holding it distinctly apart from the rest of the victim's side, then looked down on the floor. No shadow was to be seen.

Danny dug up in the heap of corpses and showed the others several bodies more or less covered by the Black Veil.

_(Chris) But if these victims are in the same state as Cathy, then they're not dead. Why have they been put here ?_

Silence followed this question. They were thinking to clear up that point. And it was Gianell to propose an answer.

_(Gianell) Whoever is doing this seems to be interested only by the shadows, and doesn't care about the bodies themselves. Hence are these being piled up here, until they eventually die. This is probably a room where the corpses, having become useless after the removal of the shadows, are being gotten rid of. Like a trash room, if you want._

_(Chris) So someone here is willing to collect as many shadows as possible, then throw the bodies away, like mere rubbish ? But what's the purpose of gathering all those shadows ?_

_(Danny) Maybe to use it to counter the Light Power ?_

_(Gianell) That's a clever guess. But we'll need to make sure by ourselves. We have to find where the people are imprisoned before being separated from their shadows. Come on, there's no time to lose. Let's go check the neighbouring tunnel !_

They all retreated from that horrible room where death was slowly but surely getting the upper hand over life and headed back to the "fork". This time, they took the left passage, and walked on for a moment, until...

_(Danny) Is it me, or is the ground shaking slightly ?_

_(Chris) No, I think you're right : I can sense it as well._

_(Gianell) Desmira advised me of that trembling too. There seems to be something powerful producing it. And it's certainly just ahead. Let's continue !_

The five-member troop pursued and could feel the vibrations gradually increase, until the ground was obviously wobbling hard.

A little further was a staircase. They proceeded down, and the tremendous vibes amplified significantly. The origin of that tremor wasn't very far away, they could sense that.

There was a doorway, there, in front of them...

The next minute, they all emerged in a gigantic room, and remained lost for words, upon spotting what was in there.

All stood there, motionless, their eyes and mouths wide open, in complete disbelief.

Finally, Chris got a thought, which summed up their commune feeling of horror :

_(Chris) God Almighty ...!_

**/**

**So, what do you think is in that immense room ? Any idea ? If you wanna make your guess, then review and propose. But I'm not letting any clue slip out. You'll have to wonder "by yourself"... Eh eh eh...**

**I said that I would make that chapter shorter than the last one (a mammoth one), and I stuck to my word. Then again, it's not every week that you type more than 5'000 for a story ! I know a guy nicknamed "Cpt Fox" in the Starfox archive (yes, I managed to walk out of the MBC archive for once, last month...), and believe me, that dude is used to typing past those 5'000 words for EACH chapter. Frightening, isn't it ? XD**

**Okay, it's time to let you tell me what ya thought of this all. I hope to receive a bit more than one review, this time.**

**(Fair) warning : I won't write this w/e, taking back on Monday. But you have to know that I won't be working for SHADOWLAND : I owe a new chapter to fans of another story of mine, which has been delayed for reasons out of my control (it _really_ wasn't my fault if it took that long, wz that other story). This means you won't get next SL chapter before at best two weeks, possibly even three (probably !). Sorry, but I have to update the other one, stranded for way too long ! (last chapter was written around April 5th...)**

**Thanxxxx all for your patience and your undying support ! Your nice words have, from the start, fuelled my writing will + inspiration ! I haven't got enough gratitude for ya all, dear Buddies !**

**Till soon !**

**Peace, Love, Ecstasy !**

**/**


	14. The mysterious rooms

**Me : Did ya miss me ?**

**Audience : Yeah !**

**Me : Can't hear ya ! Did ya miss me ?**

**Audience : Yeaaah !**

**Me : Ya were saying something ? So : LOUDEEEEER !**

**Audience : YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAH !**

**Me : Woooow, dudes, calm down ! Why the hell ya shouting like that ?**

**Can't ya just speak normally, like everyone else ?**

**XDDD**

**Ok, old teasing me is back ! I tried to make this as fast as possible, once PE chapter was finished. I hope ya hung on fine wzout grumbling too much…**

**Oh, and for the prank, last time… eh eh, just couldn't resist ! And given Blood-of-Silver's reaction, which had me ROFL (Roll On the Floor Laughing), it was worth the joking ! =)))**

**And, before I forget : maxi thanks to CutieGirl57, for reviewing that much last week : girl, every chapter, really ! Careful, or Blood-of-Silver will think you're trying to outdo her by reviewing every time ! XD**

**Oh, and because I'm a bit of a sadist, I decided to make ya wait a bit to know what's going on wz the cliffy. Uh uh !**

**Anyway, without further bla bla, here's chapter 13, served hot and flavoured ! Yummy !**

**N'joy !**

**/**

**13 / THE MYSTERIOUS ROOMS**

Katie opened her eyes and stared straight before her. She was suddenly very focused. She could distinctly feel something.

Something she had been waiting for, for hours and hours.

She turned over to Mr Smith, who was grieving by the body of his granddaughter. A body which was now more than half covered by the Black Veil. Death was gaining ground progressively, mercilessly, and the void seemed to be approaching from this room to sweep away poor Cathy...

"Hugo !" she called out.

The old alien turned his weary eyes towards her, and she could feel a shock paralyze her as she saw how red and "ringed" his eyes had got. It was terrible to see him this devastated. He seemed to appear even older now.

Katie swallowed with difficulty and gathered all her will to communicate him what she had just been feeling about.

"Hugo ! They are close now !"

"Close ?" He seemed at a loss, as if his grief had frozen over his reactions.

"They are close to Cathy's shadow !" she exclaimed, trying to pass her excitement on to him. And it worked. The white-haired Rhapsodian opened his red painful eyes as wide as he could and his mouth gaped up in disbelief. He didn't dare to believe it !

Finally !

"Are you sure, Katie ?" He had grabbed both of her arms in his hands and was squeezing them with the strength that only despair would give one. "Are you sure ?" he repeated, as if he dreaded not to be allowed that last-chance hope.

She looked him straight in the eye and gave the answer he feared he'd never hear : "Yes, Hugo, I'm sure of that ! I'm even 100% certain that they are close to the shadow of your granddaughter. I can feel their energies neighbouring with Cathy's. More exactly, Chris's and Danny's energies. Sam's seems to be a tad more distant, but not that much. Which means that they probably split the group in two for the needs of some strategy. But they are really proximate, now ! Isn't that wonderful ?"

The exhausted senior didn't reply, but merely hugged the elderly lady tightly against him, tears of joy now running down his cheeks. He still couldn't completely believe it, although he now had got the proof that she was serious and that she definitely could confirm that the salvage of Cathy's shadow was no more than a matter of, who knows, minutes ?

The slanted-eyed woman returned the hug, closing her eyes as she shared the poor man's happiness, which was all the more intense that he had felt pushed to the extreme pessimistic limit, cornered to despair only a moment ago as he watched the dark matter absorb gradually his most treasured relative, the root of his welfare, his reason to live !

Mr Smith finally broke their embrace and stared intently into the now rejoicing eyes of his long-time friend.

"It's a miracle, Kat' ! A _**miracle**_ ! They made it ! Finally !"

"Yes, my dear, they did. Well, they still have to actually locate the shadow and get hold of it, but I'm now convinced it will be done very soon, in a near future. After, the main challenge will be to bring the shadow back home before the Black Veil covers up the hair. But as I just said, I'm convinced the MBC can make it ! My intuition tells me so, and I'm almost never wrong when I sense something with such certainty !"

The old alien was now bamboozled, but for positive reasons, this time. Not out of despair, like before : out of crazy hope, out of dire expectation ! He wanted to believe it could happen. He felt now obliged to consider the matter with renewed courage, renewed hope. He knew the kids, he was aware of how brave and efficient they could be. He trusted them. They could make it. Yes, THEY COULD !

_And I know they WILL ! Now I feel it for sure ! It can't end up like this ! No ! Something in me whispers about their successing in the mission. They can't lose ! Courage, Shloumba, your friends will be here soon to save you..._

/

Sam looked again at the screen. There were so many dots gathered on it. Fortunately, she was able to locate her friends' team and her own thanks to Chris's programming : he had managed to set up the device in such way that it would display also the MBC members, but in the form of red squares. And the position of the A-Scan was indicated by a reverse arrow, which also was of help for locating, especially in an environment full of aliens, like that base.

The yellow member turned to the Chancellor, her arm held out to the orange alien, for the latter to grab the A-Scan.

_(Sam) Here you are, Ana ! You can take it !_

_(Ana) Thank you, Sam !_

The fox-looking creature closed her hand over the alien locator. Instantly, all the dots vanished from the screen. All but one. The Chancellor showed the result to the MBC leader, who took a long stare at the screen. She had been memorizing the general disposition of the area, and of course their own location in this minute. And she now had to check the screen to know how remote they still were from that lonely dot, and in which direction they should proceed on.

After a moment, she put her forefinger on the corresponding spot of the solitary dot and asked Ana to give her back the A-Scan. The mass of dots returned, but Sam kept her finger stuck to the screen. She then checked where the team currently was, and thus knew where to head.

_(Sam) We have to take this left bend, then walk straight on for a while, then take to the right when we can._

_(Ana) Alright. I will repeat the instructions mentally in Beaba language for our men._

She did so, and after this was done, she exchanged a look with Sam, who nodded and started, always remaining in front of the Chancellor, in order to keep her safe from any attack.

They soon found themselves in a long corridor which they followed, until they could see it finish in a dead end. On the right was a staircase winding down in the depths of the base. But it was guarded by two soldiers.

_(Sam) We have no choice but follow that staircase underground. But will the guards let us go by ?_

_(Ana) We'll try, but if they show hostile, I'll take care of it !_

They approached the armoured bullies and, just like the African-American fighter dreaded it, those barked out something, menacing the group with their spears. Ana then took a step forward and reached out in between the guards. She opened her hand and a mysterious dust, which she had just poured in a minute before, started whirling towards both soldiers simultaneously. It reached their noses and sneaked inside. The expression of the "watchdogs" changed : all aggressiveness faded away and they put the spears back to their sides, then stood up back straight, in guarding position.

The path was now clear.

The five-person team started down, and while they were sinking through those dark walls, the golden-eyed girl couldn't help asking a question to the blue-jewel alien.

_(Sam) What was that dust exactly ?_

_(Ana) It serves as tension inhibitor. Anyone smelling or breathing it will see all nervousness or aggressiveness vanish from him/her. I have some left, but it won't be sufficient would we be facing a whole armed group._

_(Sam) Oh, I see. Very efficient indeed._

_(Ana) Isn't it ?_

And the orange Beaba smiled at Sam as she uttered that last short sentence.

The crew continued their way down, in a thick silence...

/

_(Danny) What... What's that ?_

They were now in a huge room which space was mostly occupied by an enormous glass container. A huge cylinder which stood up, and could be easily crushing aliens and humans under its tremendous size. And inside the glass receptacle were... shadows ! Dozens, hundreds of them ! They fell from the top and slowly, slowly floated down the container, until they reached the mass of gathered shadows, and just lay over, at the top of the now thick dark layer. About 2/3 of the cylinder was already full, and black floating shapes regularly kept on filling it.

_(Gianell) Hum... they are collecting shadows ! That's exactly what Hattho used to do in order to augment his own power ! He put the shadows in a container and then he... wait, let me check something !_

Gianell walked forward, until she reached the giant container. She took a glance down and found what she was looking for. So she turned to the rest of her team and send them a thought.

_(Gianell) Come closer ! _(she translated this in Beaba as well, and soon all advanced)

The General pointed at a kind of pipeline which emerged from below the cylinder and got straight into the nearest wall.

_(Gianell) Do you see this ? I'm certain that it contains the elemental principle of shadows : a dark shiny liquid which can, when concentrated enough, dim light down and finally destroy it completely. That's what Hathho tried to do, long ago : have his evil scientists make some powerful weapon using that dark shiny liquid (which we call "Szônn") and use these to fight the Light civilization. And once the latter would have been got rid of, nothing would have prevented the Dark Army to gradually extend their power on the other planets. And I'm convinced that in this pipeline is flowing Szônn extracted from all those shadows !_

Chris had been listening, trying to retain all those precious informations, that would actually explain a lot. Then he formulated his question.

_(Chris) So, although Hathho had been deemed dead, according to what you had explained us, it seems that this whole process here definitely is his trademark. Could it then be a henchman of his, or possibly child of his (if he has some), to have copied his technique ?_

_(Gianell) That's actually my best guess. We've taken every precaution to ensure Hathho's complete destruction, and I can't honestly imagine **how** someone may still have found a way to bring him back to life. Unless a brand new revival magic has been created...?_

_(Danny) Anyway, they are going to put Cathy's shadow in that container. And for what we know, it could already be somewhere in there !_

Chris put a hand on the red member's shoulder and gave him a small smile.

_(Chris) Hey, don't worry, Dude ! We're going to find it ! We can search this receptacle, but there's another place we can check. I looked up before and noticed... this !_

He pointed his finger up and the rest of them turned their heads in that direction. They saw Poisoners coming out from a room up there, each one pushing a hovering plate on which were piled... shadows ! And they brought the plates down to a footbridge leading to the massive container. The rest seemed easy to deduce : they poured the plates in a hole on top of the cylinder and the dark silhouettes then fell down until landing on top of the great shadow heap.

_(Danny) Do you think Cathy's shadow could be in that room ?_

_(Chris) I haven't got a clue, Dan', but we can quickly have a look. If the outcome is negative, we'll swiftly get back down here and contact Sam, to know if she has found the Queen ! For only her can locate Cathy's shadow rapidly ! Come on !_

The team moved on, skirting around the huge cylinder, and finally found some stairs making it up to the level of the mysterious room. They climbed it up fast and found themselves close to the premise the Poisoners were exiting from.

_(Gianell) Alright, time to find out what's in there. _

They entered and opened wide, surprised eyes when they saw what was there.

**(A/N : Yeah, I know : I can be that much bothering with "cliffies"... but still, you LOVE that, don't ya ? ;)**

/

Sam, Ana and the three other Beaba's arrived in a circular room. The two guards standing by the entrance showed as authoritarian as the previous ones, but the Chancellor used the same technique as before to counter their aggressive attitude. They blinked and got back to their usual position, spear upright in front of them, eyes staring straightforward.

The black girl took a glance at the A-Scan, to determine their current location, then checked with Ana where the single dot was in relation to themselves.

_(Sam) According to the scanner, the alien symbolized by that dot is a little further, on the left._

_(Ana) Right. We're nearing our goal. Let's think positive. We can make it._

_(Sam) And I'm confident we **will** !_

The group went on and came to a crossroad : one path going left, the other right. Following the indications provided by the device, they turned left and soon came to... a dead end ?

_(Ana) Oh no ! It was the wrong way !_

_(Sam) But... there gotta be something in that direction, otherwise why ever building this path at all ?_

_(Ana) Maybe there used to be some other room or passageway further on, and they decided to seal it up ?_

_(Sam) Makes sense. But how to be sure ? Wait a minute ! We need to check the A-Scan again !_

The MBC leader raised the small machine in front of her eyes and mentally noted the position of their team. Then she handed out the alien locator to the Chancellor.

The single dot was now very proximate from them. In fact, it was set right in front of them, that is... beyond the wall that was now blocking their way !

But it wasn't the only point that could be deduced from the analysis of the data displayed on the tiny screen. Sam put her forefinger on the area where the sole mark was visible.

_(Sam) Have you seen the configuration of the room where that alien is being held ?_

_(Ana) Yes. That room seems to be near us... straightforward. That means, beyond that wall here. But we probably arrived from the wrong side. The access must be in another corridor, and then it may be another squad of ours to find it._

_(Sam) What you say sounds logical, Ana. But by looking attentively at this screen, I can affirm that it's not so and that there is another explanation. See, there is only one way to get to that detention room. It's by moving forward. There's a link between that room and this one. And should we make a close-up..._

The teenager made some setting and had a portion of the map enlarged : the portion that was right between the two premises, the one where the groups was and the detention one. And they could notice that there was some kind of rectangle separating the rooms.

_(Ana) What's that ? Wait... could it be..._

The Chancellor stopped and stared at the young human. She had guessed.

_(Sam) If you're thinking about a doorway, then you're right. I can't seriously think of anything else symbolized by that rectangle. And given that we see only a wall, it means it's a hidden doorway. So we must figure out how to trigger the mechanism opening it._

The twin-bunned girl approached the obstacle and took all the time needed to study its nature.

She had thought the wall might be a mere optical illusion to deceive intruders and deter them from walking on, the simple sight of a dead end logically discouraging anyone. But the physical contact with the hard panel proved her the wall was real.

Sam didn't see any particular mechanism around. If there was one, it was either concealed within one of the side walls to her right and left, or set somewhere inside the rest of the small room they were now in.

_(Ana) Did you find anything, Sam ?_

_(Sam) Hum, no, not yet. But there has to be something hidden nearby to trigger the opening of that door. Let's check the whole place for anything out of the ordinary !_

Ana nodded and transmitted these last instructions to the three soldiers standing behind her.

The five members of the second team began examining the room for something unusual, which could be some kind of lever to the door. They were walking real slow, to avoid overlooking any detail that could be relevant, and their eyes kept on probing all walls and even the ceiling.

Suddenly, one of the soldiers let out a sequence of Beaba words. Ana turned around and saw him looking at her. He was waiting for his chief to come see what he had found.

_(Ana) Sam, my soldier Pojskkan just let me know that there was something bizarre with the wall he has been inspecting. Please come with me, we will investigate this !_

_(Sam) Alright, let's have a look ! Who knows, it may be a serious clue !_

The two co-leaders of the team approached the wall the soldier was standing by. The latter stretched his arm towards the partition, to single out the exact part to be analyzed. Sam and Ana narrowed their eyes and soon noticed that there was a very discrete square slit inside the wall. The human took a step forward and touched the square part delineated by the slit. She then pushed it firmly.

At first, nothing seemed to happen. Nothing moved. But after a few seconds, a sound could be heard, faint yet distinct. And all could see the square part sink slowly into the wall. It went on and on for a while, moving gradually backwards, until a different sound was heard.

Silence succeeded to that promising moment, and no new event took place. Sam bit her lips, starting to dread that it had been a wrong track to follow.

But then another sound could be heard, very faint as well. They all pricked up their ears and tried to locate the origins of it, but the almost unnoticeable noise lasted only a few seconds, which made it difficult to pinpoint within the room.

_(Ana) Where did that come from ?_

_(Sam) I couldn't tell, really, but looks like we'll have to seek through the premise again to know. It was too brief for us to find out its source._

Before restarting to examine the room, Sam decided to check out the doorway. It was still closed. She stared at it for a moment, then turned around, ready to get back to her "wall probing"... and then just stood still, as an intuition crossed her mind.

She turned her head and looked above her shoulder, at the still locked passage.

_What if... _she thought to herself.

The yellow member calmly walked to the doorway, and turned to look right, then left... and her eyes widened !

There, in the wall, a square hole had opened !

Sam rushed to it and glanced inside.

There was a small red shining circle inside. It seemed to be floating right in the middle of the cavity.

The thoughtful girl moved her arm forward and unfolded her forefinger. The next second she was putting it over the circle. The latter grew a tad bigger then divided in three and all parts moved away from each other. Once they were in triangle pattern, they began going round slowly, counterclockwise.

Sam hesitated, unsure of what she should do next. But after a short moment of inner debate, she made up her mind and opened her hand. Then she spread her thumb, forefinger and middle finger apart, so that they would find themselves over the circular path made by the three red circles.

Once it was done, she waited, motionless.

_(Ana) Did you get another clue, Sam ?_

The Chancellor was beside her, watching her.

The MBC fighter almost jolted, as the thought had suddenly appeared in her mind while she was focusing hard on something. It was as unexpected as the sound of a voice interrupting a daydream, hence the movement of surprise of the earthling.

_(Ana) Sorry if I scared you ! I didn't mean to !_

_(Sam) No, it's okay, really. And to answer you, I may have found some important stuff here. Please just let me try to do something... and we will see what occurs next !_

And just as all red circles were all under all of her fingers, Sam lowered swiftly these on the circles, as if to push three switches simultaneously.

The three rings immediately assembled in the center of the hole and disappeared.

A moment of silence.

And then the doorway opened in a smooth upward motion, thus granting the group access to the secrete premise where the mysterious alien of the A-Scan was held.

Sam looked at the open passage, then back at the Chancellor, and smiled.

The three Light soldiers lined up behind their chief, who nodded to Sam. The black fighter nodded back and started to walk in direction of the enigmatic room.

Inside was only one thing, in the center of the room : a large pedestal on which was laid what seemed to be a long black rectangular box. It reminded Sam of... a coffin !

In this very moment, the courageous teenager felt a shiver run down her spine...

At the four angles of the box were big black upright objects ending at the top in balls, and a luminescent smoke, rising in lazy curls from within the box, seemed to disappear inside the balls.

Sam, however brave she was, didn't feel too secure for once, yet she still advanced to the long black box. Her heart was pounding so powerfully inside her chest.

_Come on, you silly girl ! What are you afraid of ? Okay, this definitely resembles a coffin, but don't you know vampires **don't** exist ? Yes, you know that. So stop trembling and look inside ! And you'll see there's nothing to be scared of in there !_

She gathered her will and walked to the lower end of the box, while Ana and her men all positioned in various spots around it. Then they all made a step forward and lowered their eyes.

Time seemed to stop.

Heartbeats seemed to slow down.

And for the first time in a long while, a voice was heard.

It was Gianell talking aloud. She hadn't forgotten about the necessity to avoid speaking, but this time, she just couldn't hold herself back... because of what she saw there !

And the two words she uttered were more important than _any_ of all their previous thoughts :

"HER MAJESTY !"

/

**Ahaaaaaa, the great moment, at last ! The one you've all been dying to read about ! Here it is finally ! The plot is evolving seriously and crucially now !**

**Not exactly a cliffhanger, this time, but the chapter ends on a fundamental note. One of the key moments of the expedition. Therefore, a very intense conclusion.**

**I'm pleased to have been able to publish this in 2 weeks instead of the 3 I initially thought would be necessary. I worked hard just for ya all. See how much I love ya ? ;)**

**Ah, about the title of this chapter : it refers both to the giant container room (Chris and Danny) AND to the detention room (Sam) !**

**Right, I'm waiting for your reviews, as always. Thanxxxx in advance ! And write again soon *cough* SKYDIVING *cough* ...**

**Take care, all !**


	15. Queen Lauren

**Yo Friends !**

**Thanxxxx a lot for your reviews, especially BB123, whose reviews I had been missing. I'm very honored you enjoy my story, dear ! We both are impatient about each other's stuff, eh eh ! Very nice !**

**And welcome to NarutoNineTailFox in the fanclub ! Glad you like the story ! Keep reviewing, please ! =)**

**And for once, Blood-of-Silver forgot to put her usual review. Eh eh, I knew I'd got ya abt this one day or the next, Calgarian ! XD**

**Oh, and I noticed I had made a mistake when I spoke about a five-member team, lately : all teams now are composed of 7 members, coz 2 members of the last initial team (that last team was a 6-people one) got in the 1st new team, 2 in the 2nd one and 2 in the 3rd one. Which makes each time 5+2 = 7 (bravo, Léo !). So from now on, I should always write : 7-member team, and no longer 5-member team. And if I still do, slap me ! ;P**

**Anyway, enough babbling for now, Folks ! Here comes the great moment : meeting up wz Queen Lauren !**

**N'joy !**

**14 / QUEEN LAUREN**

_(Danny) Gee ! That's… that's incredible !_

_(Chris) God, how did they manage to do it ?_

_(Gianell) I can't believe this !_

They were now standing in a very long and high room, and on both sides were dozens and dozens of translucent containers holding dark upright shapes.

Shadows !

So many shadows lining up in their prisons, as far as they could see. There really were a lot of them in that enormous room. It was hard to tell their total…

_(Danny) How many are there, do you think ?_ He had turned to Chris and Gianell.

_(Gianell) It's hard to tell, but perhaps… at least a few hundreds ? What do you think, Chris ?_

The tech was glancing at the lines of containers, as if hypnotized by their quantity.

_(Chris) Well… yes, perhaps two, three hundred ? I couldn't say, but… a lot, really ! Oh dear, the one behind all this really is an insane mind ! How many must have died from their shadows' removal, or are about to die, like those victims we saw in that room above, waiting for an unavoidable death !_

The blunette felt a contact on his shoulder and turned to see a very serious General.

_(Gianell) Not if we can intervene in time, Chris ! Because if we can save Cathy by bringing back her shadow, perhaps we can find a way to return many other shadows to their bodies !_

_(Danny) But how ? How will you do that in time ? We know approximately how much time we have to save Cath', but we don't know for the rest of the victims._

The red-jewel alien let two of her eyes move to the side, where the jock stood.

_(Gianell) We can't know that, of course, but what we know is that we **have** to try and send these shadows where they belong. That's all we can do. If we fail, then it will be such a terrible pity to think we couldn't avoid death for so many. But if we succeed, then... won't that be a great victory ? Imagine if we could first save Her Majesty, then save Cathy by bringing her shadow in time, and finally have as many shadows as possible dispatched to their owners... Wouldn't that be a major achievement ?_

Chris smiled and gave the fox-looking alien an understanding look.

_(Chris) Both you and Ana are very clever, and very wise too. You speak so sensibly._

The lips of the addressee stretched to a grateful grin.

_(Gianell) Thank you ! You humans are very intelligent and wise yourselves ! It's both a pleasure and an honor to fight by your side !_

_(Danny) Hum, sorry to mix in, but since we obviously can't locate Cathy's shadow, given the number of shadows in there, what about we try to communicate with Ana and Sam, to ask them how it's going with their own search, and if they're close to the Queen ?_

The General nodded to this and closed her eyes to focus all her telepathic power, for a long-distance thought. She waited a moment then released her inner dispatch, including the boys and Sam in her mental thought addressed to Ana.

_(Gianell) Your Excellence, we have located the shadow storage. But there are probably hundreds of shadows in there, so there is nothing we can do at the time to find Cathy's. We wanted to know how good you progressed in your locating Her Majesty._

The thought left her mind for Ana's and all three MBC members'.

/

Ana's eyes were so wide as she stared intently at her sovereign, taken away from her and the rest of her people many days ago. There she was at last ! Her Majesty, there, lying before her eyes ! They had made it !

The Chancellor took her arms up and left them in horizontal position, spread in V pattern over the box.

A dark blue glow soon appeared around her hands, and that glow seemed to flow down like a liquid. It reached the edge of the box and quickly continued its way inside. Once it had got to the flat surface on which Queen Lauren was lying, it started to expand around the royal figure, rapidly circling all of it.

Once the blue frame was complete, Ana recited a Beaba verse and lifted her arms higher. Her face, eyes closed and frowning, lips slightly arched down, was a mask of concentration. She stopped moving and remained absolutely still for a while.

That's when the unconscious body of the Queen slowly rose from within, and floated up to the top, in perfectly straight position. It gently made its way down to land delicately on the hard black surface of the ground. The blue moving shape then vanished and Ana opened her eyes. She took her arms down, back to her side, lowered her eyes to the apparently sleepy figure and walked to her side, before respectfully kneeling by her sovereign and wrapping her in a worried gaze.

That's when Ana and Sam sensed something inside their head.

It was Gianell's voice. She was addressing the Chancellor, informing her that their team had found the place where shadows were stored, how they were being drained from their elemental matter, the Szônn, and wanted to know how their own group progressed with their own search for the Queen.

Ana replied involving all MBC members.

_(Ana) Good news, General ! And that's for you as well, Chris and Danny ! We just found Her Majesty. She was placed in a box with some device drawing Light energy away from her body, and she's now unconscious. Our enemies are certainly trying to forge some dark weapon using her power. It is great news to hear that you have found the shadows. This means that we are about to reach both of our goals : once Her Majesty is awake, we will make our way to your current location and have Cathy's shadow located._

There was a pause, and then Gianell sent her answer through.

_(Gianell) That's **awesome** ! You have found Her Majesty ! Excellent ! So half our mission is complete. We are in good way for success. Please try to wake up our Queen and then head to our side as fast as you can. There may be a passage linking the different parts of the base. It would be just fine if you could find one._

Sam intervened to add something the two aliens hadn't mentioned about their mission.

_(Sam) There is a third thing to take care of before we leave this place : locate and defeat the leader of the enemy army, the "puppet master" pulling the strings in the darkness. We absolutely must find that guy and beat him : he's far too dangerous to be left alive !_

_(Ana) You are right, Sam : we also have to do that before leaving ! But right now, we must find a way to bring Her Majesty back to the state of consciousness. General, Chris, Danny, we will contact you once she is awake and see how we can make it to your end._

The telepathic link got closed. Sam kneeled down next to the Chancellor and observed the royal figure lying motionless before her eyes.

Queen Lauren was taller than the other Beabas and her skin was red. On her face, there weren't two pairs of eyes, like was the case for the rest of her kind, but _three_. And on her forehead shone three green gems.

_The colour and number of gems on their foreheads probably indicates their status,_ thought Sam. _One red must be for the chief of the army, two blue for the guardian of their science and sapience and three green for the top authority, the sovereign of all._

Sam couldn't take her eyes off the face of the red alien resting on the floor, inches from her. She was amazed at the monarch's expression. Even in that state of unconsciousness, which could be really serious, the Queen had a serene look. There definitely was something noble spreading from her motionless features, something... majestic, yes. Which after all seemed to fit in perfectly with the authority she was empowered with.

Ana noticed Sam's attentive stare at the Queen and watched her for a moment. The earthling sensed she was being observed and turned her golden eyes to her watcher.

_(Sam) Sorry if I gazed so intensely at your monarch, but I just find her incredibly noble and serene, even in this state of weakness. Her face expresses such equanimity, such peacefulness... I find it so soothing to peer at her... Sorry if you found this staring inconvenient. I just couldn't resist it._

_(Ana) Don't you worry, Samantha ! There's nothing wrong with your staring at Her Majesty. You know, all of her loyal subjects, like me, Gianell, Desmira or anybody else experience the same thing each time we look at her face : we feel mollified, appeased, serene, as you said. She has this wise and soothing aura stemming from her, and it does reflect on her features and in her eyes. You'll be even more impressed once you will gaze straight into her eyes._

Ana paused for a moment, looking intently at her sovereign. Sam could see that there was both respect and protection in this look of hers. Then Ana directed all of her four eyes toward the yellow member and her expression gained seriousness.

_(Ana) I will now have to require the help of a third party to wake her up. I alas haven't got enough power to do this by myself. So I will ask Joshua to assist me for this._

The teenager's eyes grew wide out of surprise.

_(Sam) But how... is he here ? I thought he was to remain in Fic, to protect the town from any enemy attack._

The Chancellor smiled and gave her interlocutor a sly look.

_(Ana) There are a few things Beabas can do that humans can't. No offence, but our magic enables us to do what you can't do. In this case, Joshua, who still is in Fic, can send his magical energy up to here and I will unite mine to his in order to draw Her Majesty out of her unconsciousness._

The African-American was astounded.

_(Sam) He can... **send** his magic here ? That's incredible ! You really have many resources that we can only dream of..._

The orange alien smiled wider, then got up and focused hard on Fic. She gathered all her will to dispatch Joshua her thought.

_(Ana) Can you hear me, wise Elder ? This is the Chancellor using telepathy to require your help. Please acknowledge my request._

There was a moment of silence in the telepathic transmission, then something turned up.

_(Joshua) My respects, Chancellor ! I'm at your disposal for anything. Just ask and I will do the necessary._

The addressee slightly smiled as she received the thought of the venerable Beaba.

_(Ana) Thank you, wise Elder ! We just managed to find Her Majesty, but she is immersed in what could be stasis state. In order to bring her back to consciousness, I kindly ask you to help me by sending me a powerful Zuran ray. I will produce my own Zuran energy, and both united will successfully wake Her Majesty. Please let me know when you are ready to dispatch._

_(Joshua) Of course, Chancellor. Please leave me a few minutes._

There was a pause in the telepathic communication, and during this pause, the blue-jewel alien could feel the respectable elder concentrating and rising his energy level as he gathered all his power to create the Zuran ray. And then it came.

_(Joshua) Chancellor, I'm ready. I'm launching the Zuran ray right now._

Whoever would have been standing in the plain adjacent to the large group of white houses would have seen, in this very moment, an impressive purple shot emerging from Fic and aiming towards the marshes underneath which the secret base lay.

Meanwhile, Ana had been focusing all her power to release the Zuran energy from her body. She had put her hands in cup pattern in front of her. And as soon as she perceived the ray sent by Joshua nearing their location, she braced herself and let the energy out of her.

A purple ray beamed off her hands in a soft rustle and went straight through the ceiling, pointing exactly at where the other ray was coming from.

Joshua's ray dived down towards the marshes and that's when Ana's ray emerged from the muddy waters. Both rays collided and a bright purple core started to grow bigger and bigger. And once it had reached a huge size, a larger ray was produced, which shot down through the layers of the ground. It worked its way straight below and came shooting from the ceiling of the detention room.

And it hit the body of the Beaba monarch !

The royal organism was completely surrounded by the purple glow, which silently intensified on an on. Then it swiftly diminished to the size of a ball, which then decreased and decreased, and once that ball was as tiny as a pearl, it dropped and sunk within the sovereign's body, which absorbed it at once, as if it had been waiting for it for a long time.

Ana then collapsed to the floor and remained in sitting position, her chest rising and sinking under the panting effort.

Two of the guards immediately kneeled down by her, and so did Sam. One of them let out a bunch of alien words, his eyes glued to the face of the Chancellor, concern flowing from them. Ana looked up at him and gave a weak smile, before replying in Beaba language. The guard said something else, and Ana answered once again. Then she turned to look at Sam. The MBC leader could see how tired she had suddenly grew, her eyes now half closed, and blinking almost in slow motion.

_(Sam) Oh my God ! Ana, are you alright ? You look exhausted !_

_(Ana) I am, indeed. The Zuran ray demands so much energy that it leaves one very tired. I performed this along with Joshua, who now is as weary as me, so I let you imagine how I would feel should I have tried to do it by myself. It takes too much energy for one to do it alone. So we have to be at least two for that. But don't worry, I will be okay. That's what I told my soldier here. He was asking me how I felt and I reassured him, stating that I would be better soon. It's just a temporary state of weakness, no more._

The Chancellor turned her gaze at the still motionless figure lying close to her.

There was a while of complete silence. The two guards had followed the stare of their leader and were now observing their Queen. And Sam found herself watching the red body as well, tension nested in her whole being.

A soft whimper could be heard and the royal face gave a frown. And then the six eyes slowly opened, and blinked slowly, looking at the ceiling of the room. Where was she ?

She then heard a voice in her head.

_(Ana) Your Majesty, this is the Chancellor communicating with you by telepathy. I am right by your side, but can't talk aloud to you for safety reasons. We are using telepathy to avoid our enemies to find out who we are. So I please respectfully ask you to use telepathy when you are about to express yourself._

The Queen slowly rose and the guards immediately came around to support her. But she remained sitting, watching intensely all of the people present in the room. She took all her time to recognize her fellow aliens and her six eyes lingered on the black creature dressed in yellow and black outfit, kneeling by the Chancellor.

After a while of observation, she turned her head at the guards and thanked them inwardly in Beaba idiom. Then she glanced back at Ana, then at Sam, and back at Ana. The latter got it and started to explain.

_(Ana) Your Majesty, please let me introduce you to Samantha. She speaks only English, one of the Earth's languages. She indeed is human. And she's part of the Monster Buster Club ! Two of her teammates, named Christopher and Daniel, are currently with the General. They came on the Dark Planet to rescue the fourth MBC member, Cathy, who remained to Earth. Her shadow has been stolen by a Howler, and they were told that it was somewhere on this planet. While looking for that shadow, they encountered Howlers and Poisoners, and after fighting these, we did meet with them a distance from Fic. They were looking for you, since they had been told that you could locate shadows. I explained them you had been abducted and they decided to join us in order to free you. So they are helping us, and would kindly request your help to find their friend Cathy's shadow. The General just informed me moments ago that they had managed to locate the place where shadows are being kept. So we should now head for that place in order to find Cathy's shadow, that is, as soon as you feel able to walk again, Your Majesty !_

The Queen remained silent for a long while, absorbing all these pieces of information and getting the full meaning of each. And once this was done, she focused and sent all Beabas present (including Ana) a thought in which she thanked them for their rescuing her and gave them her blessings.

Then she slowly got up, soldiers around her willing to help her, but she put a hand up to imply it was fine doing it herself. Then she turned all of her six eyes towards Sam and the MBC fighter finally heard the soft, noble voice of the Queen inside her head.

_(Lauren) Greetings, Human ! Please allow me to introduce myself : my name is Lauren and I am the 123rd heiress of the Light Throne. The Beaba's, which are the Light People, have chosen me as their monarch, and I've been ruling the city of Fic for 10 years now. It is a pleasure to get to know you, and an honor to meet the leader of the famous Monster Buster Club. You have all my gratitude for helping my men to rescue me. I am indebted to you and your friends for this. Thank you, Samantha Cloverfield !_

The Queen slightly bowed to Sam, who looked at her in amazement. How had she… ?

She got up as well and continued to stare at Lauren, baffled. Finally, she replied to her.

_(Sam) Your Majesty, it is me who is honored to meet you. I'm humbly presenting you my respects. _(Sam made a reverence) _But how do you know my name ?_

The noble creature smiled.

_(Lauren) By simply focusing on your identity. There are many powers I have, notably learn things out of mere observation, read minds or use telekinesis to move objects. And therefore, if I stare intently at someone, I can guess his/her name, status, function and such. Thank you for you respects, Samantha ! I have to present you **my** own respects for your courage and determination to save your poor friend, who lost her shadow._

Sam was astonished at how kind, how caring, how respectful, how polite the sovereign was. She seemed to behave even sweeter than Ana, and that was saying something !

_(Sam) Thank you very much for your kind words, Your Majesty. They go straight to my heart ! And please call me Sam : all my friends call me that ! And for my teammates, it would be simply Chris and Danny._

And once again, Sam bowed to the red fox-looking extraterrestrial.

_(Lauren) And now, Ana, I will make your energy go up to its usual level. I can see you're exhausted from gathering your energy to save me. _

The Queen kneeled down and faced her right-hand alien. Her head was exactly opposite to hers. She frowned, focusing hard. Then her three green gems started to shine more and more. And suddenly, three thin rays left these gems and got straight into the two blue gems on Ana's forehead.

The flow of energy spread into Ana's organism, gradually restoring her full strength. The Chancellor's eyes opened wider, and wider, and wider.

And as the rays dimmed out, Ana was in her best shape again, without the Beaba monarch looking any tired. The Queen had been transferring part of her energy to her fellow creature, and she didn't seem to have lost _any_ of her own power. Which had Sam amazed at. _It's incredible. She can give Ana as much energy as she needs in order to be fit again, and yet she doesn't seem weary at all from doing this. She must have a tremendous power !_

The orange Beaba got up and respectfully bowed to her sovereign.

_(Ana) Please receive my gratitude for restoring my full energy level, Your Majesty !_

_(Lauren) The pleasure was all mine, Ana. You've been granting much of your power to pull me out of darkness's claws, so there's nothing more normal than help you back afterwards. I'm pleased to see you fit again._

_(Ana) Thank you, Your Majesty !_

The Chancellor wanted to ask her Queen something which was a major concern of hers. She addressed her, but put Sam in the loop as well.

_(Ana) Your Majesty, would you please let us know what happened last week, when you were so suddenly abducted ? Who had the audacity to do such a thing to you ?_

_(Lauren) All I remember is a group of dark soldiers attacking our convoy, and when I wanted to help my men fight them off, I felt a contact on my shoulder and immediately got dizzy. And nothing else after that. As if I had got poisoned or, rather, somehow sent to sleep. I have no clue what they used to do that, but it was very powerful. I can't remember anything else._

The Chancellor got thoughtful for a moment, pondering what had just been said. Then she decided to share with Lauren her suspicions about the author of this mischief.

_(Ana) Your Majesty, we think that someone is willing to use shadows for an evil purpose. Gianell let us know that they had found a room where hundreds of shadows are imprisoned, and a container where they are thrown afterwards, and in which the Szônn is being drained out of them to be conducted via pipes to another part of the base. The purpose probably is to invent dark weapons to destroy the Light Army._

Lauren's eyes grew wider at this explanation. She reacted without delay.

_(Lauren) But… that sounds like Hathho's trademark ? He is supposed to be dead ! We made sure he was completely destroyed. Who could have managed to revive him ?_

_(Sam) Your Majesty, we think that it may me someone else to act in the background. Someone who was close to Hathho and knew his exact operating mode. It could be a henchman of his… or possibly a child of his, if he has some !_

_(Lauren) Hum… we never found any line of descent for Hathho, but it doesn't mean he hasn't any. What one cannot find still can exist. We must detect this mysterious enemy leader and defeat him before he manages to create those dark weapons you mentioned._

The Chancellor and the black girl both nodded, but the latter wanted to precise something.

_(Sam) We indeed have to make sure we neutralize that evil leader. But first, we must locate Cathy's shadow. We are time-bound to bring back her shadow to her body, and if we can't make it in time…_

She had trailed off, but the green-jewel alien completed it.

_(Lauren) … she will die ! I know. Be sure we will never let this happen ! You have been putting your life into danger to save both your friend and myself, and this risk you've taken won't remain unrewarded. We will do everything we can to help you. _

_(Ana) Yes, we will. Be confident, Sam. We will locate Cathy's shadow and battle the dark leader behind all this._

_(Sam) Thank you both for your help ! I think that we should now head to the shadow storage in order to let Your Majesty scan the whole room and sort out where Cathy's shadow is. I have been walking before Ana, to protect her from any front attack, and suggest you let me do the same for the rest of the mission, in order to now protect both of you._

_(Lauren) Of course, Sam, please do ! And thank you for your kindness and courage ! Shall we go now ?_

Sam turned and looked around. She then noticed a staircase at the other end of the room. The group had been going straight to the long box holding the Queen, so they hadn't spotted those stairs.

The yellow member walked up to the door, and the rest of the team followed her.

_(Sam) We haven't tried this way. There also is the right-hand path going opposite from here. Where should we go ? We have to find the direction in which the storage room is. Hum… Your Majesty, can you sense Gianell's presence in this direction ? For if you can, then it means it's the right way to go._

The red fox-like tall alien closed her eyes and let her own inner sensors probe. But it wasn't long before she reopened her eyes.

_(Lauren) Gianell and your two MBC teammates are indeed in that direction. So we can safely head over there now._

_(Sam) Alright ! Let's go !_

But before any of them could actually make any move onward, a loud voice echoed powerfully throughout the room :

"You are not going **ANYWHERE** !"

**/**

**And one cliffy, one ! Yeah, I know, I'm terrible wz those... but since ya still love'em so much... XD**

**Gee, what a long chappy this was ! Am I trying to "redo" THE LONG WALK, or what ? Anyway, I didn't seem to be able to stop typing, like my hands were possessed or something… **

**So now is Queen Lauren back with the team, which makes one goals out of three completed. Things are going better.**

**Or are they ? Indeed, who has been screaming at the end of the chapter ? Could it be a foe ? What is going to happen ? Will they be able to actually find Cathy's shadow, that Sam, Chris and Danny have been longing to locate ?**

**What's next ?**

**Read on to find out ! Next chapter will get started tomorrow already ! Thanxxxx anyone reviewing till then ! And once again good luck wz yr stories ! Oh, and bravo to Blood-of-Silver for finishing her SKYDIVING joint !**

**Best of hugs, you awesome people ! Your love and support is my everyday joy ! =)))**


	16. Light VS Dark

**Morning… or afternoon… or evening ! Depending on your location… =)**

**I've been toiling quickly on that new chapter, starting it the very next day after the previous one was published. Blooming wz inspiration ? Oh yeah, for sure !**

**Thanxxxx a lot to my dear readers and reviewers (B123, Bos…) ! Your words as usual melt my heart wz pleasure and give me a huge motivation to write on ! Your support is the backbone of this story, Guys !**

**And now has come time for the first battle of the Light Army, and it won't be an easy one. Brace yourselves, Folks, coz here we go !**

**N'joy !**

**/**

**15 / LIGHT VS DARK**

**/**

Sam, Lauren, Ana and the rest of the squad turned around in a wink.

There, in the doorway of the passage they had come through, stood a group of aliens watching their crew with menacing looks. It was obvious that these were enemies, and the determination that could be seen in their posture and looks spoke by itself : these guys were willing to stop the intruding team and neutralize them, at any cost. That could imply either imprisoning them or… killing them.

"Where do you think you are going with the Beaba Queen ? And who are you, by the way ? Certainly not real Howlers and Poisoners : they wouldn't be able to wake Lauren up ! So **WHO** are you ?"

The one talking with such an authoritarian voice was the front alien, which was a mix between a bat and a lizard **(A/N : yeah, I know… ;) )**. He had a short dark grey pendant, in which a light grey gem was embedded, and also a ring at his left ring finger. He wore a black and grey armor, and a dagger made of some black matter hung from his belt. His eyes shone a dark red color.

His henchmen were all of the same kind the Beabas and Sam had already seen before : great brown lizards who also wore an armor, although a slight lighter shade of black. And there were many of them standing behind the bat/lizard frontman.

_(Lauren) He doesn't fall our visual trick : he knows we're not what we seem to be. What do we do ? Do we still pretend ?_

She looked at Ana, then at Sam.

_(Sam) I suggest we wait and remain silent. We will soon enough see how they will react._

_(Ana) That sounds a good proposal. Your Majesty ?_

_(Lauren) Yes, let's follow Sam's advice. But I have an inkling that our little shenanigan won't work. Still, let's wait and see !_

The Light fighters didn't move and merely watched on the enemy guards.

But it wasn't long before the hybrid creature obviously started fuming.

"Alright, listen, intruders. Don't think you're gonna fool myself ! I know you're not what you look like. And it's easy to unmask you !"

With that, the half-bat half-lizard monster waved over to the group of fake aliens, reciting a spell, and the next minute, the illusion which had been the cover for the Light army and the MBC got blown over. The foes could now see the real beings hiding behind the visual deceit.

"Well, well, well. Isn't that the Chancellor and her men ? And who are you, young black human ?"

_(Lauren) He can see us the way we really are ! He managed to dispel the effects of Joshua's magic. We aren't protected anymore by appearances !_

_(Ana) This alien has powerful magical powers. We must absolutely beware of him !_

_(Sam) Alright, let's face these enemies ! Useless we go on using telepathy, now that they know who we are. Let's start talking again and confront them !_

"My name is Sam and I'm part of the Monster Buster Club. And now, why don't you reveal _your_ identity, so we know who we'll be defeating in a moment ?"

The cross-bred leader sniggered while glancing at the earthling with contemptuous eyes.

"Really, human, do you really think you and your Beaba friends will be powerful enough to outdo me ? That's so naïve of you to even dare to imagine it… But it seems fair to indeed let you know my identity, so you will know who will bring you to your last abode."

The naughty alien paused in order to give more effect and emphasis to what he was about to utter. His mocking eyes wrapped the Light soldiers and the MBC leader in a scornful embrace. Finally, after seconds of silent daring, he went on.

"My name is Silon and I'm the Dark Quartermaster. I'm under the orders of the Dark Lord, just like the Chancellor here is under the orders of the Queen. It was me to abduct Lauren last week, and to have her imprisoned here. My Lord gave me all latitude to act in order to have her drained of her energy. By analyzing that energy, we would have been able to invent the counter-substance to it, Pure Darkness, which we would have used in weapons. The latter would have been used to get rid of the Light people, and once this was effective, the Dark Power could have started decimate the other rebels refusing its authority, and it wouldn't have been long before the galaxy to fall under our control. Pretty clever, no ?"

Silon smirked proudly at his opponents as he finished explaining the plan set up by the Dark Lord. He was so self-confident, so despising…

"Yes, but there is something you couldn't foresee : it was that the Monster Buster Club would come to this planet and help us." Lauren replied, as she frowned at the minion. "And given their courage and their intelligence, there is not much doubt we are going to win ! So, if I were you, I wouldn't be so sure about your victory…"

It was her turn to consider him with an ironic smile. That didn't prevent him from sniggering once again. He definitely was way too self-confident…

"MBC or not, it won't change the outcome, which is : the Dark Army will triumph and crush any enemy under its might. And now, I'm sorry to tell you that it's your end. I'll be also neutralizing the Queen thanks to this."

He showed the ring he had on his left hand. His cruel grin was more menacing than ever.

"What is that ring exactly ?" Lauren asked him.

He laughed up his sleeve at this.

"It's the... say, device that enabled me to get you unconscious, last week, during the attack of your convoy. You see, this black ring has the power to instantly weaken the Light people of higher rank, and whoever is touched by it immediately starts feeling dizzy and quickly collapses to the ground. So I simply touched you and you quickly lost your strength, then fell unconscious, and we then just had to carry you here and have you put under the energy-drainer over there, in order to suck up all of your precious power... which we will later use against you and your likes, Lauren !"

He burst out laughing, an insane, maniac laughter which made even the courageous Beabas and Sam herself shiver.

"And now, I will put you back to sleep and kill _all_ of your companions here !" he concluded.

The sick sparkle lighting up his eyes told good enough that he wasn't joking at all...

The MBC leader frowned harder and made two steps forward, then positioned herself in front of the Light Monarch, legs firmly spread apart, both hands clenched in two fists in which the blood of anger was now flowing. Then she opened her right hand and took it up to open her gun case. She slowly pulled her blaster out, made sure it was set on maximal power and held it in front of her, in a defensive position.

"I don't care that you are powerful, clever or self-confident. I don't mind your cruelty and your strength." She was staring hard at the Dark Quartermaster. "All I know is that, as long as I'll be alive, you won't put a hand on Her Majesty. Do you hear me, Silon ? You are never gonna do anything again to her. And I'll make sure you are dead within the next hour !"

Ana walked up and positioned herself just by the human's side. Her look was a determined one.

"And you'll have to fight me as well if you want to approach Her Majesty. I'll never surrender unless you've been taken out of the picture, you sick-minded minion ! Don't expect any mercy from any of us : you will get _**none**_ !"

Just when Ana had said this, a faint sound started behind her and Sam. Both turned around and gasped.

The Queen had spread her arms apart from her body, palms turned to the front, and her eyes were shimmering a lot. Then her whole white robe got brighter and brighter, until the luminescence was so high that it got to the blinding point. The only parts of the Queen that could still be perceived were her head and her arms.

The intense glare diminished gradually, and once it was completely down, all could see the difference in the Sovereign's attire.

Her robe had been replace by a white armor that protected each part of her body, and over her head was a white helmet with a symbol on the forehead part: a golden triangle with a set of white rays stemming from the upper end of it.

All had understood that the Beaba Queen wanted to take part in the battle. But Ana made a step towards her, while Sam turned back to keep an eye on their foes.

"Your Majesty..."

But she couldn't speak any further, as Lauren raised a hand in her direction, to stop her.

"Ana, I know what you are about to say, but I'm sorry to tell you I'm not just gonna step aside and watch you risk your life for me, quietly snuggled in a corner of this room. I want to take part in that battle, and I will ! You have been taking so many risks to rescue me... it's normal I help you. Besides, a queen knows how to fight, and that will change me from my usual routine. Please don't insist, Ana, and let me fight by your side. I'll be honored to battle with such brave persons as you."

The Chancellor was visibly reluctant to accept, but she knew she hadn't got a choice...

"Of course, Your Highness ! It will be our honor to fight with you ! But please be careful of Silon and his ring ! He mustn't be able to approach you !"

"Don't worry, I can take care of myself !"

One more snigger could be heard. Silon was making fun of them, once again.

"Well well well, see that ? The Queen is willing to fight us as well ! Very good, that will make it simpler for me to get her !"

As these words were spoken, Lauren let out a loud sequence of Beaba words, her face a menacing mask of wrath and courage. Then she turned to Sam.

"I just told my men to give everything they had to obtain victory. And now, let's fight !"

Silon screamed his orders to his henchmen and all rushed forward with their spears, letting out loud bellicose groans.

The Light soldiers started to battle them, and it was soon obvious that both troops had different fighting styles. The dark guards were giving brutal blows, but they were slower than their opponents, while the Beabas couldn't put as much strength in their hits, but they moved much faster and were more precise as to the place they punched the brown lizards.

The Dark Quartermaster made quick moves to avoid Sam's blasts and tried to get closer to her, but she incessantly moved this way and that way, making pretty difficult for the minion to reach her.

Ana fought by Sam's side and did her best to continuously attack Silon, so that he wouldn't get any break from repelling their commune assaults. The Chancellor proved an excellent fighter and her fighting was even quicker and more precise than her men's.

As for the Queen, she was bravely battling three lizards who were trying to grab her. She kept on dodging their heavy punches and spears, and retaliated with her white sword. Yet even after they had been hurt, the monsters got back up and did their best to pursue the battle, no matter how seriously injured they were.

But soon, several brown bodies found themselves landing on the black floor, and short after that, the lethal blow was given, making them some corpses for good. The Light soldiers were slowly getting the upper hand over the dark guards.

Silon redoubled his efforts to fight Sam and Ana, and he didn't seem to ever get weary from the endless mugging he had to deal with. He tried to touch the Chancellor with his ring, but the orange alien kept on avoiding his attempts and responded by attacking her enemy with even more determination and strength.

The fight went on until a cry of pain could be heard. One of the Beaba had received a spear in full chest and had grabbed the end of the weapon. The massive lizard shoved his spear deeper and the scream echoed louder.

Lauren didn't hesitate. She ran to the lizard responsible of the fatal hit, avoid two of his mates who were coming at her together, and swiftly whirled her white blade around. The dark guard had tried to step back, in order to avoid that attack, but the green-jewel alien had been too quick for him. A yellow liquid spurted from his neck and the creature let go of his spear to put both hands to his wound. The Queen rapidly rushed forth and sent her sword straight in the middle of the brown abdomen, pushing it hard within.

The terrible monster let out a horrible shriek, then collapsed and soon stopped moving.

As soon as her enemy was dead, Lauren quickly walked up to her wounded soldier and pulled him to the side of the room, glancing around all the time to repel any new aggression. But since no foe was coming at her, she had the time to stare down at the wound in her soldier's chest. He looked at her in pain, his eyes showing respect. She gave him a comforting look and put her head closer to his chest. The three gems on her forehead glowed for a while, then their light died away.

And once it had, the wound in the Beaba's chest had disappeared !

Lauren smiled to her Light guard, which returned the grin, and she stepped aside to let him back in the battle. Then she turned and focused her mindreading powers on Silon. She directed her sensing power at his weak point, but it was difficult to get inside his mind, due to the complexity and number of his thoughts. But she kept on trying nevertheless.

Sam knew there was something else to try. Her blaster had caught the Quartermaster a few times, but yielding no visible effect. _It doesn't work on him. I need some tougher one._ So she evolved her blaster in the Double X and began shooting at the nefarious creature.

The latter dodged the luminous beams and started himself to cast grey rays at the MBC frontgirl and at the Chancellor. Those had to keep on moving to avoid the dangerous energy shots sent at them by an always angrier alien.

Ana made a rapid move towards the minion, and the latter put his hand in her direction. The orange Beaba jumped at the last second and the ray missed her by short. But Silon had made a mistake : he had turned his attention to Ana exclusively and forgot about Sam for a bunch of seconds. It wasn't a long time, but enough for the African-American to get the free hand and refine her angle of attack.

She pressed the trigger at the exact moment when Ana jumped out of reach. Silon was turning his head back at her when the powerful blast of the Double X hit him straight in the chest. He yelled so loud that everybody turned for a second to look at him. And the few brown lizards still standing felt a slight shiver of uncertainty wrap them when their leader collapsed.

"Didn't I tell you that you'd be dead within the next hour ?" Sam said in an ironic tone. "You better not underestimate the Light power and the MBC efficiency !" She smirked at him.

Lauren suddenly opened her eyes wider. There it was ! She had it ! Therefore did she shout to Ana and Sam : "The gem on his pendant ! That's his life source !"

The Chancellor and the yellow leader turned their heads at her and nodded. But just like Silon had made the mistake to "forget" one of her opponent before, Sam had herself turned her attention away from her enemy, and just like before it proved fatal.

The Dark Quartermaster saw the black fighter look at the queen and he swiftly gathered energy inside his hand. And when Sam nodded, he cast a dark grey bolt at her.

"Sam !"

Lauren's warning came two seconds too late. Her human friend received the bolt straight in her abdomen and fell down in a cry.

Silon managed to get up while Ana and Lauren were running to their Earth ally. He looked around him, only to see the last of his guards get slain by a Beaba. The Light soldiers were all standing, some holding parts of their bodies, where they obviously had been hurt, but they were _all_ alive... while his own men were _all_ dead !

On his face appeared a horrible wince, mix of fury and killing desire. He took the dagger from his belt and started to cross the room in direction of the two Light leaders and the MBC one.

"I'm gonna slaughter you. Even if I must die afterwards. I'll have the three of you butchered, and I'll relish your long and painful agony. Be sure of that !"

All the Queen's men ran at him to stop him, but he fought them off, one after the other, by punching, by kicking, by stabbing. He had gone completely ferocious and shouts of rage echoed in the room as he eliminated the Beabas one by one.

Once he had sent the last Light soldier to the ground, and before the fox-like aliens could start back at him, he quickly made an about-face towards the group of three. But then his eyes grew wider out of surprise.

Lauren was kneeling by the wounded human, but where was...?

He heard a thump behind him and turned around. And that's when a spear hit him violently on the chest... and broke to fragments the light grey gem embedded in his pendant !

At the other end of the spear, Ana was frowning hard at him. Her stare was a merciless one. She kept her angry eyes on him for long, long seconds, then removed the weapon and stood back up.

Silon started to cough. He felt about to suffocate. It was over for him. He had fought many enemies a moment ago, but that had distracted from the Beaba chiefs, and he hadn't notice Ana grabbing a spear, running to him and jumping over him. She had been above him as he was turning back to where Sam was lying, and landed behind him while he was wondering where she was. Time for him to hear her landing and turn around, and his doom was sealed.

"It's the end of the road for you, Silon !" the Chancellor whispered, still frowning.

Sam and Lauren approached. The golden-eyed girl had been healed by the Queen, just like the Beaba soldier before. They stopped by Ana's side and watched the suffering minion.

"Curse on you... Beabas and MBC... but don't you think... you have won..." He was speaking in fits and starts, as he felt his body rising in pain. It would soon be finished for him. "The Dark Lord... will... crush you... all..."

He opened his mouth and spat some black liquid, whimpering as he did so.

"Who is the Dark Lord, Silon ? Is is Hathho ?" the red fox-looking creature asked him.

The Quartermaster tried to smile, but this made him groan some more. He spat more of that black liquid, which indicated his body was betraying him and slowly falling apart.

"Ah...ah... you will... not... know... until you... meet... with him... and that... will... be... soon... believe me...Aaaaaah !"

The end was close now. But still, an enigmatic smirk was floating on Silon's lips, despite the growing pain inside of him.

"I'm... leaving... but I... will... give you... one last... present..." He was now almost giving the death rattle, but managed to gather all his strength to pronounce a sequence of alien language, and as he did so, he made a circular movement with his arm, around the room.

His eyes shone with pure hate as he did so, and when he stopped talking, his eyes gained a fixed stare and he fell back to the floor, motionless.

It was the end for him.

All the Beabas plus Sam watched his body get darker and darker by the seconds, until it was completely black. Sam shivered. _It reminds me of the Black Veil..._ And the mere reminiscence of that made her uneasy. A foe was dying, but this foe's death made her think of a friend.

And then the black mass of his body collapsed into a heap of dust. That's all that was left of the Dark Quartermaster. Just a dark mass of dust on the ground of the base.

But they all felt that defeating the Dark Lord would be something much more difficult than this. The great leader acting in the darkness was certainly much more tenacious. And probably had powers that his right-hand man hadn't. It was going to be hard...

"We will not know the identity of his master before we actually face him, as it seems" Sam stated, turning to her two friends.

"I still doubt that it could be Hathho. But if it nevertheless is, I wonder how they managed to revive him..." Ana remarked.

"We will have to wait to have all the answers. But right now, please leave me a moment to heal all of our crew's wounds" concluded Lauren.

The Queen therefore turned to her men and spent time with each of them, making their wounds vanish and expressing each one her gratitude for his relentless devotion and courage. To which every soldier answered humbly, thanking his Sovereign for her kindness.

Sam watched the green-jewel alien as she took care of her team. _I've never seen such a generous, kind being as her. Even on Earth, I can't recall any authority behaving that sweet and caring with their... "subjects". She acts with such simplicity, yet such kindness. She really is a great monarch, one who deserves maximal respect, and for whom one must give everything he/she has to serve her the best possible. What an honor to know her !_

Finally, Lauren was done. She walked back to the Chancellor and the human, and gave the latter a concerned look.

Sam indeed was thoughtful, as she had just been remembering the words uttered by Silon right before he died, and his circular waving. And those words sounded somewhat familiar to her. She had spent a few seconds reflecting, no more, but when she remembered...

"Your Majesty... Ana... we have to leave this place and hurry to the shadow storage, where Gianell, Chris and Danny currently are. There's no time to lose ! Please let's go !"

The two aliens stared at her, astounded.

"But Sam... what is going on ?" Lauren asked.

"Do you think Silon started destruction in the storage ?" Ana added.

The African-American was now biting her lower lip and giving them a worried look.

"I will explain you on the way, but please let us waste no more time. It's an urgent matter and we must be there as soon as possible. Trust me, you will know everything in a moment !"

Her eyes were visibly pleading for a set-out without further delay. So the red leader turned to her men and explained them that they were to hurry to where Gianell was. They all nodded and made a slight bow.

One last thought came to the black girl's mind before they left.

"Your Majesty, would it be possible to ask Joshua to give us again the appearances of Howlers and Poisoners, so that we can go on deceiving our enemies ?"

But the Monarch shook her head negatively.

"I'm sorry, Sam, but Joshua is now exhausted from reviving me, and there's no way for him to recover power, while I was here to do that for Ana. So he won't have enough power to do it. I'm really sorry not to be able to help, but we will have to continue in our own shapes. And since our foes can now recognize us, there's no point in using telepathy anymore between us, except to communicate with distant ones like Gianell and your friends."

"Alright, then let's head to them quickly. And thank you once again for healing me and all your men, Your Majesty !"

"It was my pleasure, Sam ! We're following you now !"

And they all started upstairs, in the staircase that likely lead to the shadow storage room, leaving behind a room full or corpses, and with a small pile of black dust in a corner, in the center of which a black ring lay...

**/**

**Done ! **

**So, what did ya think of that new chapter ? I swear I couldn't stop typing this ! It took me what, 3 days to complete ? My personal record, I'd say ! Not too bad !**

**And it's the race again between me and BeachBabe123 to update, in order to have our story on the top of all others (since updated ones end up in 1st position each time).**

**Ah ah ah, I'm just joking, but it's still us two to publish the most, eh eh ! ;P**

**Speaking of which... I'm HAPPYYYYYYY ! And why ? Coz Katie Minnie finally decided to pursue her masterpiece, UNKNOWN LOVE, left pending for almost a year !**

**I was almost desperate to see any update. Too bad I can't review, coz she blocked me for unknown reasons... Perhaps coz she found my reviews too enthusiastic and thought I was a maniac ? XD Me, a maniac ? Ridiculous, I know, but eh, with humans, you never know... they're so moody ! No offence, right ? ;D**

**Alright, time to let ya review this. And be sure I'll be starting next chappy this weekend. Gee, has writing become some kind of drug to me ? Duuuuuuuh ! =)))**

**Take care all and... write on ! Luv ya all !**


	17. The great storage battle

**My greetings to you all !**

**This chappy here has been taking more time than planned. I'll tell ya Y in a minute.**

**But first, let me say that I'm "overhappy" with all that's going on lately on FF. Let's sum up the whole thing :**

**1/ Blood-of-Silver completed her story, and I'm happy for her ! =)**

**2/ BeachBabe123 regularly updates IHIR and HERO, which is AWESOME !**

**3/ The DannyWTF finally issued sth new, and I'm glad she had the time to (the 3rd short story was very moving, bravo to her for such touching conclusion !)**

**4/ But most of all, Katie Minnie (KM) is greedy for updates, as she already let out FOUR chapters of UNKNOWN LOVE in only a few days ! EXCELLENTISSIMO ! Alas she's still blocking me up for… unknown ;) reasons, I can't review her story and neither can I take part in MBC TOP 20 2012, since I would have to contact her for that (she's hosting this new Top 20), and I can't, which leaves me very disappointed & bitter ! It's UNJUST ! But still, a medal to her for writing such a great story, which is one of the finest of FF, IMO ! =)**

**Anyway, I've been writing almost four pages in a row, before making a break to read ALL of KM's four chapters of UNKNOWN LOVE. Sorry, but ya know, I'm as enthusiastic abt that wonderful fiction as I am about BB123's work in general. So if ya wanna blame sbdy, do it on KM ! XD**

**Anyway, enough blah blah blah, here's the chappy, : read, like, review, whatever ! XD**

**N'joy !**

**/**

**16 / THE GREAT STORAGE BATTLE**

Running and running and running… the second team was now scurrying as fast as they could in direction of the first team. They had to fight a few dark guards every now and then but given the agility and battling talent that all possessed, and all to a high level, defeating enemies proved less hard than they had thought in the first place.

While they were hurrying to the shadow storage, the Queen seized the occasion of their slowing down a tad, in order to catch their breath, to ask Sam the essential question.

"Sam, can you please now let us know what you guessed that made you decide to go back to our friends quickly ? Is there some danger over there that Silon initiated with his spell ?"

The brunette cast her a very serious look.

"Well, I'm not completely sure, but when I heard the words used for that spell, it seemed to me they were identical to those he had uttered a while ago, to "cancel" the magic of Joshua regarding our monsters appearances. So I thought…"

"… that he was using the same jinx against our friends, in order to make them lose their fake identity and have them attacked by his henchmen, back there." Lauren finished for her.

The African-American bit her lip. No doubt, the Light Monarch really could read minds. Unless she had just guessed her deductions, with simple good sense, without using her powers.

"Yes, that's right. It's exactly what I'm dreading. And that's why we need to hurry there : they might be in great danger. Plus, of course, we are still time-bound regarding Cathy's rescue, so there really is urgency in all that !"

Ana had been thinking about their arguments and "stepped" into the conversation with a sensible remark.

"I was wondering _how_ Silon may have guessed about our other squad, but now that I turned this question over in my mind, I think I found the answer by myself : that must be because he could tell we wouldn't have ventured into such a dangerous base as this with only seven people. In order to save Her Majesty, it was obvious we would have gathered far more soldiers than that. And getting this, he knew that not _all_ of our forces were here in that room, but that there were split to explore other parts of the premises. And thus, he decided to disadvantage the other teams as well using the same trick he had used successfully against us. Does that make sense ? I think it does."

The MBC leader smiled at her in an almost proud way, as if she showed that way how proud she was to have such clever allies as those.

"Of course it does make sense to me. And you're most certainly right about it. Silon felt that we were more than just seven people in their lair. So he gathered all his last efforts to cast the same spell in order to handicap the rest of our troops. Which means both Gianell's group and the third group, which had taken the right-hand path, in the arrival room. So we must quickly go help the first team and find Cathy's shadow, then will it be time to fight the Dark Lord. And I wouldn't be surprised if he already knew about our presence, thanks to Silon or not…"

/

The creature was walking slowly between the two ranges of translucent cells holding the dark shapes. It was a male alien looking like a leopard, but his skin was purple while his dots were dark blue. Like the Earth animal he resembled, he had a long tail, but ending in a three-part tip. His features were firm but not as "coarse" as those of the lizards that were obeying the Dark Lord. He hated those vulgar and brutal beings, which behaved so primarily, without an ounce of sensitivity.

His name was Mytylys and he was the chief of the Dark Army. He had been chosen by the Dark Lord himself, who had sensed his leading potential, while the Quartermaster would have preferred the most influent of the lizards, a bully named Skarlar, who hated him and even more the Light people. But Skarlar lacked strategic sense, according to the Dark Lord.

Mytylys was absorbed in his most intimate thoughts now.

The Light people…

The Dark Lord had told him that they pretended to be on the good side and respected all alien forms of life, but that it was mere "smoke screen" and that they were in fact plotting to conquer the whole galaxy, deceiving the leaders of other planets into befriending them before actually starting an evil scheme to overthrow each leader in turn and take hold of their planet.

Mytylys had never met Light people, so he had been raised by the Dark Lord in the belief that the Light authority was the one to defeat. He had never met the highest-ranked Beabas, but had developed animosity against those he suspected of being ambitious manipulators, whose thirst of power could never be quenched.

And then there was his grandfather's death. He had been a loyal servant of Hathho's, the previous Dark Lord, and proved one of the bravest fighters in his army. He was a severe alien, who seldom smiled, but very devoted and who would give his best to accomplish his tasks, sacrificing even hours of sleep to carry out his duty. Mytylys had been looking up to him.

Until the day came when the Beaba General had killed him. The Dark Lord had explained him that the leader of the Light forces, a female named Gianell, had set a trap to wipe out the elite troops of Darkness, and had actually plunged her weapon into his grandfather's chest, taking pleasure in prolonging the agony of the brave soldier.

From this moment on, Mytylys had lived in the hope that he would eventually meet up with that Gianell fiend and make her pay for her cruelty. He wished he would have been there when the killing took place, to avenge his relative's death by slaughtering her murderer.

But Hathho had described him the scene with such accuracy that it was as if he had been on the battlefield and saw his grandfather die right under his eyes… and his fury and death wish against Gianell had grown on and on since then !

Lost in thought as he was, the Dark Commander didn't immediately notice the monsters waiting on a side of the room. He kept his eyes directed at the front, brooding over his revenge thoughts and memories of his grandfather. He was about to pass the bunch of aliens when he saw a movement on his right.

He turned his head to the side and spotted a group of Poisoners and Howlers grouped by the wall. One of the Poisoners was scratching his left arm, and it's that movement that had caught Mytylys's attention.

The leopard-like guard frowned. What were these monsters waiting for ? Did they want to ask him something ? But normally, those creatures simply did the job they were given, without ever uttering any single sound. So why… ?

He was about to open his mouth when a flash of light lighted up the group. And right before his eyes, he saw Poisoners and Howlers turn into… Beabas and two other creatures, with furs from different colors over their heads and black skin with red / blue lines !

Mytylys sure wasn't the kind to be astounded easily, but that totally unexpected metamorphosis took him aback ! What was that strange kind of magic ? His eyes grew wider as he remained dumbfounded, trying to figure out what had just occurred.

While he was looking for words to utter, if just any could express his current feeling, the team of intruders watched him with a bit of anxiety starting to rise.

_(Danny) Dude, why the heck did you have to scratch your arm **right** when he was about to pass us by ? See, now he has seen us and is probably wondering what we're doing here !_

Danny had sent his thought to Chris, but put Gianell in as well. The blunette replied in the same way.

_(Chris) Hey, not my fault ! It was itching like crazy ! Besides, we look like monsters, so what could go wrong from here ? If he yells at us, we'll just have to leave this room and wait somewhere outside. Right, Gianell ?_

_(Gianell) Yes. I guess he's just willing to have us out if we're doing nothing. Let's wait and see what he will say !_

But the contents of the Dark Commander's speech threw them in deep worry.

"Beabas ! What are you doing here ? And who are those two there ? They're not from this planet ! I'll show you how we handle intruders here !"

All of the members of the Light squad couldn't believe their eyes. That guard actually had recognized them as Beabas and humans. Well, not actually as humans, but as creatures which weren't from the Dark Planet. How was that possible ?

_(Danny) Is it me or did that guy just say that we were Beabas and described us in our MBC outfits, instead of in our monsters appearances ? How does he know that ?We're supposed to look like Howlers and Poisoners !_

_(Gianell) I don't know. But if he knows about our real identity, it would mean that we no longer resemble monsters. Now what could have cancelled the spell of Joshua ?_

_(Chris) Well, maybe that his magic was limited in time ?_

_(Gianell) Impossible : the Beaba magic has no temporal limits. _

_(Chris) Then the only solution I can think of is somebody powerful managing to undo Joshua's spell. But who ? Certainly not him. He looked surprised, so he didn't expect to see us this way._

_(Danny) Maybe that the Dark Lord has sensed about our presence and has sent a spell of his to counter Joshua's…_

But Mytylys broke their mental communication by his menacing gesturing at them. He had pulled out a black whip and was ready to use it.

"Who are you ?" he asked Chris and Danny. "And what are you doing here ?"

The MBC partners looked at each other and hesitated. Then Chris gave a look to Gianell. After all, she was the leader of their squad, and one of the expedition's strategists with Sam. The General caught his eye and knew he was waiting for her to make her move.

_(Gianell) If that guard can see us in our real forms, then it's no use continuing with telepathy. We did that when we had our deceiving appearances, not to have our cover blown, but now it IS blown, so let's just speak aloud, right ?_

The two teammates nodded to her, then the orange alien turned to the leopard-like one.

"These two humans here are part of the famous Monster Buster Club, which have the mission to chase nasty aliens, neutralize them and send them to the galactic authorities. They have come here to rescue one of their friend. And I'm the General of the Light Army, come here to rescue our Queen, that you abducted last week."

The Dark Commander had listened carefully to all that and his eyebrows raised up as Gianell uttered the last sentence of her speech.

"You're the Light General ? So you're in command of all Beaba armed forces ?" His tone was shaking with a quickly-building up wrath. He had guessed.

"Indeed" her addressee merely replied.

"And what's your name ?" His voice was trembling always more and more, as fury was rising apace inside his whole body and mind.

The General had noticed the change in her interlocutor's behaviour, but at this point couldn't actually make any connection with a past event that would have explained such attitude. So she simply proceeded with her identity.

"It's Gianell. And what's yours ?"

Upon hearing the very name he was waiting for, the one he had been developing so much hate about, Mytylys let out an impressive growl and his eyes gave a mad sparkle.

"You are Gianell ? Good, because you're the one I was looking for, and whom I will kill in a few minutes. And to answer your question, my own name is Mytylys, and I'm the grandson of Hypalin, the bravest soldier of the Dark Army, whom you murdered decades ago !"

He finished his sentence almost yelling, and his eyes remained lock with Gianell's, a lethal flame of revenge dancing in them.

"I knew Hypalin, but I didn't –"

She wasn't left enough time to end up her sentence. The athletic leopard-looking creature swooped down on her, an expression of utter rage plastered over her features. He raised his whip and lashed it at her enemy. The red-jewel alien, who had anticipated an attack from the way the Dark Commander got always more and more furious, could dodge the mugging and the intruders' group split apart to avoid the tempestuous foe charging their group, but aiming at the General only.

Gianell moved a few feet away and knew she had to speak with the dead angry male who wanted to slaughter her, in order to possibly reason with him.

"Listen, Mytylys, what you say about me is wrong. I did fight your grandfather, but I nev –"

"KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT !" her opponent yelled. "I don't want to listen to _**any**_ of your lies ! Forget it ! The Dark Lord saw you that day, as you took pleasure in torturing my grandfather before he passed away, and he has always be honest and straightforward to us all. I know you'll say he was lying when he claimed that, but I know he was sincere to me ! He has always proved sincere ! So, you see, there's nothing you can say that will make me change my mind. And I can promise you that this is your last day on this planet !"

_The Dark Lord..._ Gianell thought. _He… __**saw**__ me killing Mytylys's grandfather ? Now I get all of it. It's their leader to have invented the whole thing ! He has possibly been telling other lies, about Beabas maybe, just to have his army believe we are the bad ones…_

But she hadn't that much time to think since the leopard-looking fighter was back into assault, his whip aiming at her face. She did her best to avoid it and retaliate with swords hits, but he was as skilled as her in the art of dodging and counter-attacking. It wasn't going to be easy.

A movement drew everybody else's attention. There was someone walking in a distance. Walking in their direction.

The figure stopped and remained still for a while.

But soon, a reaction ensued. The distant silhouette started again towards them, but this time it was running. And fast !

The newcomer came to a halt and watched the people gathered in front of him.

It was a very muscular lizard wearing a dark red armor, almost the color of blood. On his sides hung a massive axe and a dagger. Right under his neck was a black symbol, which in fact identified him among his men as the chief lizard. But still, he had to obey the orders of the Dark Commander, that Mytylys he hated so much and wished he could take the place of.

His name was Skarlar, he was the most merciless creature of the Dark Army and never showed any fear or hesitation in a battle. He could be cruel. He could be sadistic. His soul was a perverted one.

"I don't know who you are, intruders" he bellowed at the Beabas and MBC, "but I can tell you this : you are never gonna step out of here alive !"

Then he turned to Mytylys, who was just looking at him after taking a step back as he heard the lizard shout, and groaned : "Why didn't you give the alarm ? Do you seriously think you can handle all of them ? They're maybe weaker than us, but what if one stabs you in the back ?"

Mytylys glared at him. It was pretty ironic hearing Skarlar say that, for if there was one who may be likely to stab people in their back, it would for sure be that bully of a lizard !

"I know Beabas, Skarlar, and while they may be conspiring to conquer the galaxy, they aren't the kind to act as traitors in a face-to-face fight. They act in a frontal manner in a battle."

"What do you know ? And what about those here ?"

"They are humans. I can't tell for them, but anyway, I'm skilled enough a fighter to outdo most of them. And if I would be in a really critical situation, then I would call for help."

"Whatever !" the bully replied sharply. "I'm gonna butcher these intruders. Go on with that one !"

The Dark Commander frowned at him. Since when did that lizard all in muscles but short of brains give him orders ? Who was the one bossing the other ?

But before he could answer anything, Skarlar had turned away from him and was pulling his axe out. His perverse grin gave away his intentions : he wanted to slaughter them.

He walked forth, weapon in hand, but stopped as he saw a Light soldier step forward : Desmira.

Gianell's sister held her spear diagonally in front of her, a decided expression showing on her face.

"Wanna be the first one ?" Skarlar let out in a sarcastic tone. "Okay, I'll deal with you ! See what a real fighter can do !"

The scaled bully charged the fox-like female and brought down his axe violently. But Desmira could dodge and cast her spear forth. The acute end missed the monster's shoulder by little. That had been a very close one.

Skarlar's hand flew to the stick and tried to seize it, but the Beaba was quicker and took her weapon back in a swift and precise movement.

Skarlar grunted and launched another attack, which Desmira avoided. But because her move was slightly difficult, she ended up losing her balance and fell. Her opponent rushed to her, but she skilfully rolled away and kneeled up, then back to standing.

"That Skarlar is fighting so violently !" Chris said as he saw how the huge lizard cast heavy blows, with full strength. "We should help her, for I'm not sure she'll be able to go on avoiding those powerful attacks !"

"I'll take care of that, Man !" Danny answered, and he grabbed his blaster, evolved it into the Blue Shift and advanced towards the scaled monster.

But in this moment, Desmira saw him closing in, weapon in hand. She understood he wanted to help her fight Skarlar. She put her hand up, in a stopping motion, and shook her head negatively.

"But…" Danny was surprised. "We want to help you ! He's so powerful !"

Desmira shook her head again and put a hand to her chest, fingers all spread wide. Danny got it. It was to imply that **she** was to do it, on her own.

"Okay…" Danny replied reluctantly.

Desmira smiled and nodded in approval, which was also a way of showing the jock her gratitude for his willing to help her.

In this very minute, Skarlar let out a long, deep scream. All thought that it was a way of impressing his adversary and unsettling her. All, except Mytylys, who knew exactly what that scream meant.

No later than a few minutes after that, Chris, Danny and the rest of the Beabas saw a group of Poisoners come in through the main entrance. But there was more. Another bunch of these horrid creatures were flying from the far end of the room in their direction.

"My God ! They are arriving from two directions ! We'll get caught in a crossfire !" said Chris on an alarming tone.

"No concern of mine !" yelled Danny. "We'll be welcoming them the way they deserve it !"

Gianell had seen the enemies hurry there, between two fight sequences, and she took the opportunity of a short break in the battle to shout something important.

"Chris ! Danny ! Desmira and I will go on fighting these two, please take care of the Poisoners with our men ! I'll repeat them this in our language !" Which she did straight away.

The two MBC fighters chose the Blue Shift blasters to kill the winged monsters, but when they shot at the enemies, nothing happened. The Poisoners were almost on them.

"Hey, wait ! Wasn't it rather the Double X that worked against these guys ?" the red member wondered.

"Hum… I forgot, actually. Let's try that anyway !" replied the tech.

The teammates evolved their weapons into the Double X and launched the powerful rays. And this time, the horrible aliens started to crash on the floor of the shadow storage room. The Beabas, as for them, threw their spears at the monsters or used it in close quarters combat.

But more and more were arriving, and they started spitting their poisoned darts at Beabas and MBC. The latter all moved quickly around, doing their best to avoid the deadly spurts. But although the battle was getting trickier now, with the arrival of the Poisoners, the Light team and their human allies were doing very good, getting rid of many foes.

Despite their slowly gaining ground over the monsters, Queen Lauren's soldiers couldn't dodge all of the attacks, and a few of them got stung by darts. They tumbled heavily to the floor, holding the hurt part of their body, and although fighting hard to remain conscious, still passed out after a while.

But most of the Beabas could successfully avert the poisoned throws and went on fighting the flying monstrosities.

Gianell had managed to inflict Mytylys some wounds, including a serious one on his left arm. The Dark Commander, for his part, had got Gianell on the right leg, and the General felt that the black trace, which the whip had left as wound, was burning painfully. But she focused hard on the fight to avoid thinking of the pain she was experiencing.

"You're doing good !" the leopard-looking creature said "But you won't be able to win this ! And I'll make you pay for your murder !"

"Listen, I told you –"

"STOP THAT ! I don't believe any of it ! You did it and are trying to hide your lie, thinking that I will fall for it ! But I'm never going to !"

Mytylys redouble his efforts to bring Gianell down, but the General was still managing it, despite the growing pain in her leg.

Finally, Chris, Danny and the Light soldiers managed to defeat the last Poisoners, leaving the room a mess of corpses piled up here and there. It had taken a lot, but at last, they had succeeded. The only foes remaining were Mytylys and Skarlar, but they were much tougher than the winged "underlings", and to outdo them…

Gianell was whirling her blade forth in a new attack, but Mytylys dropped to the ground, crouched and slackened like a spring, his fist aimed at the red-jewel alien. This time, the General couldn't avoid it, for the whole action was too quick for her to counter. She felt the fist punched powerfully into her belly, which knocked the wind out of her lungs and had her collapse to the floor.

She was breathing fast, trying to gather some air, and looked up at her opponent. The Dark Commander raised his whip above his head, ready to lash it down on her.

"Didn't I tell you that you would pay for what you did ?" Mytylys shouted at his adversary, lying below him, breathing thick. And upon saying so, the angry male poured some substance on the whip, which made it crackle intensely and throw some luminous sparks. That substance actually brought much damage in an organism, and if regularly used on it, could quickly lead to death.

All of the Beabas and MBC were staring in horror, paralyzed by the dramatic event about to take place. Desmira cried out in despair when she saw the spotted alien raise his whip. Doing so, she forgot about Skarlar, who seized the occasion to knock her down with a brutal punch on her cheek. Desmira went crashing on the cold black surface.

"Nooooooo !" Chris and Danny screamed in unison, their eyes glued to the purple fighter about to hurt badly the General.

Desmira shouted out from her position, holding her sore cheek but staring in panic at her sister.

"GO TO HELL, MURDERER !" the Dark Commander hollered, his eyes gleaming with the furious sparkle of revenge.

And he violently lowered the arm holding the whip, straight on Gianell's face…

**/**

**WOOOOOAAAAAH ! This seemed to take weeks and weeks, while it was only a matter of days. But as I explained, it was coz I was eagerly reading the 4 new chapters of UNKNOWN LOVE. And also the 5th chapter of BOARDING SCHOOL, by Cathyrulz4ever. And also the new TheDannyWTF stories.**

**Much to read on FF, lately, I told ya ! Much activity which makes me very happy and eager for some more, each very time !**

**Anyway, time to let me know what ya think of this chappy, how ya like the new OC's, and what ya think will happen.**

**Oh, and… I really recommend ya to read Katie Minnie's UNKNOWN LOVE, for its some kind of masterpiece to me ! It's very demanding, since chapters are long and glossary is complex, but you won't regret the time spent on it, believe me ! :D**

**Simply one of the best MBC fictions, IMO !**

**Thanxxxx in advance for yr reviews/comments, and much luck to ya all for yr stuff !**

**Laters !**


	18. The darkest hour

**Yo People !**

**At last I can publish this new chapter ! Gee, given the tremendous workload I have of late, it has been impossible to start the chappy before a good week at least ! That sucks to no end, really ! But finally I can work on it again !**

**I'm a tad disappointed, since BB123 and KM didn't update their great stories lately. But I guess they're on holiday and so won't update for a moment. Aïe aïe aïe, it's so difficult to wait when you are longing for sth !**

**Anyway, thanxxxx all for reading and reviewing ! I still don't have WB, as the events are neatly settled in my mind, but I'm concerned with the structure of these events : like, how to logically order / sort out events so that it follows the most natural path, what to put first and then second, how to organize the action between the teams, making the to-and-fro between them, all that…**

**So inspiration is here, but structurally speaking, it's more of a challenge. Organizing the whole plot definitely is demanding.**

**Ok, so much for confiding ! I let ya read forth and found out abt that new cliffy. I really LOVE cliffhangers, ya know, that and sending people on wrong tracks with deceitful appearances which yields completely different results, thus surprising readers. That's way fun !**

**Anyway… N'joy !**

**/**

**17 / THE DARKEST HOUR**

**/**

"OUUUCH !"

Mytylys screamed as he felt the burn of the ray on his purple skin. The pain made him let go of his weapon, which hit the floor with a loud noise.

His head shot up and he saw a group of newcomers by the eastern doorway. Part of the group was still in the staircase and three of its members were out : two Beabas and one of those humans, with black skin on all of his body but brown head, and his hair tied in two balls. **(A/N : given that Sam is remote from Mytylys and hasn't spoken yet, the Dark Commander can't guess she's female and assumes it's a male, like the other two MBC's he has already seen)**.

The leopard-looking alien opened his eyes wider when he noticed that one of the two Beabas was actually the Light Queen, named Lauren. How had she escaped from her prison ?

Sam was still holding her blaster tightly, arms stretched and muzzle of the space gun pointed at the spotted purple creature which had just been about to badly hurt Gianell. She was frowning at her enemy and never taking her eyes off him, not even for a second, and was slowly, cautiously stepping forward towards the second team and the two remaining foes. The Queen and the Chancellor were coming next, and the other Beabas started behind them.

Upon seeing their monarch, whom they had been missing since last week, Gianell, Desmira and the rest of the soldiers let out a bunch of alien words and bowed respectfully, forgetting for a short while about enemies and battle. Lauren answered them, smiling and slightly bowing. She was with them again ! Finally !

"Who are you ?" Mytylys asked, his gaze fixed on the front creature who was motioning forth, very focused and alert.

"My name is Samantha and I'm a member of the Monster Buster Club, just like these two boys close to you. We are here to rescue a friend, and helped the Light Army to free their Queen from your base. And now, don't even think of picking up your sword or pulling out another weapon, for I've got you in my line of sight !"

The Dark Commander was astounded. That human was actually a _female_, not a male, like her team companions. And she sounded pretty self-confident for a she-fighter ! Hypalin's grandson wasn't done with surprises yet.

"And who are _you_ ?" asked Ana as they had almost reached the first team and the two enemies.

Mytylys made a menacing wince, but decided that there was no reason to deny them the right to know who he was. Enemies can still know their respective identities, can't they ?

"I am the Dark Commander, Mytylys. And this is my second-in-command, Skarlar. Our mission is to protect the Dark Lord and fight the enemies of the Dark Throne. And you, Beabas, are our enemies, willing to overthrow us and start conquering the galaxy under a friendly veneer."

At those words, the Light Monarch stiffened and her eyes cast an outraged look.

"Don't turn the tables, Mytylys. What you're describing is the will of the Dark Lord, not ours. The Light People always have been respectful of other people, of other alien forms of life. We are not plotting anything like that. But your Lord is. And he pretends _we_ are in order to blind you and ensure your total obedience. You mustn't let him –"

"ENOUGH !" shouted Skarlar. "You Beabas all are liars ! Even you, their queen, lie permanently. You're making believe you're the victim, but it's all fake ! Still, you're not gonna fool any of us. We are cleverer than you think !"

The massive reptile made a move that let think he was about to close in. Sam swiftly directed her blaster towards him, but kept an eye on Mytylys all the time.

"Don't you try and play the hero !" she shouted. "Or you'll regret it !"

Danny smirked. "Now _that's_ my Sammie ! Always brave and merciless ! You better watch out, guys" he said, looking alternatively at Mytylys and Skarlar "or it's done with you ! I know the girl, she's a rock when it comes down to battling !"

Sam couldn't help sketch a smile, while she kept on pointing her gun at Skarlar. "Thanks, Danny Boy !" Then she cast a rapid glance at the General, who had got up and was looking at her. "Everything okay, Gianell ?"

"Yes, Sam. Thank you for your help !" Then the red-jewel alien turned to the green one, and she bowed. "And so pleased to see you back, Your Majesty !"

Lauren smiled at her. "Pleasure is shared, Gianell. Thank you for coming here with Ana, Desmira and the MBC to rescue me. But we must do quick. We still have Cathy's shadow to locate and the Dark Lord to unmask as traitor and defeat !"

"Our Leader _**isn't**_ a traitor ! I won't let you insult him like that !" Mytylys shouted, and he clenched his fists.

Danny made a swift move towards him and pointed his Double X at him. "No movement you could regret, Buddy !" he ironically said. "I'm as tough and quick a fighter as my teammate here. So just calm down and obey us !"

Both adversaries glared at him, but the jock glared back with equal determination.

"Now, we must act quickly and make sure we locate your friend's shadow !" Lauren said to the MBC. "I know how time is running out, so the sooner the better. I will now –"

But before she could actually finish her sentence, a low rumble started in the storage room...

**(A/N : And one cliffy, one ! *sticks out tongue at BoS, winks at BB123*)**

/

_(Ulliga) Where do you think we should head to, Lieutenant ?_

_(Phyros) Hum... that's no easy choice to make.. Leave me one minute to think this over._

The tall Beaba looked to the right, then to the left. The right path was rising up in a winding staircase while the left one was sinking deep underground. Phyros wasn't completely certain about which direction to choose, but some inner premonition made him rather incline towards the left one. Something seemed to act like a magnet down there, magnetizing his mind and making it up for the underground.

_(Phyros) Hum, let's continue in the left-hand hall there. I have an inkling that we will find something interesting in the basement._

_(Ulliga) Very well, Lieutenant._

**(A/N : These soldiers speak only Beaba language, right, but I translate it in English for simplicity's sake : Beaba definitely is a complex language, and would leave you completely dumbfounded, so... Thank who ? ;)**

They all started for the left path and soon were sloping gently down. The team walked on in silence, but soon noticed a change in the atmosphere.

The corridor was darker now. As if someone was using much energy in that area, and that diminished the lights all around. Anyway, it made the context somewhat worrying, as if a menace was about to fall over them.

The team leader sent a thought to all of his men altogether.

_(Phyros) This path is way darker, so please remain alert and watch carefully around you. There could be creatures hiding in the dark, or possibly traps laid. If any of you notices anything suspect, let me know but by sending a commune thought, so that we all are aware._

The group nodded as one single man and followed on the Light Lieutenant around the corner. That's when they all spotted something that made them freeze and observe attentively.

At the end of the hall, on the right, were standing two guards. It was difficult to say, looking from the other end, what they were here for, but logically reasoning, it probably was to keep watch over a door leading to a very important and secret area.

_These guards are here to protect something..._ Phyros thought. _Something of high importance. It can't be Her Majesty, since Her Excellence let us know that the second team had found it. Perhaps the private premises where the Dark Lord lives... I wonder what the first team has found on their side. We haven't heard from the General since we split after our arrival here..._

Ulliga was watching the leader of the third team, waiting for him to decide what they were to do : step forth in direction of the lizards or turn back and explore the upper part, going up the staircase they had seen before.

Phyros stopped zoning and his eye met his assistant's. He immediately knew he had to make a decision, for they were all waiting for it. So he focused his mind on all and let them know what they would do the next moment.

_(Phyros) Let's continue ! I have a feeling that whatever these guards are protecting has to be important. We must find out what it is and what we can do with it._

The Beaba crew calmly walked to the end of the corridor and stopped in front of the armed lizards. The latter gave them a slightly surprised look. They had never seen Poisoners and Howlers roam around _together_. The two species tended to rather stick to their likes and rarely mix in with the others. So why were these... ?

One of the guards was about to ask a question, but he was stopped short before he could actually open his mouth. And what had stopped him was a flash of light in front of him.

That and what it yielded...

The aliens the guards were used to see wander in the base had vanished from before their eyes, and in their place were now...

"BEABAS !" shouted the lizard who had been close to speaking before, and his hands tightened on his spear, while a menacing frown appeared between his eyes.

"What are these Beabas doing here ? And where have Poisoners and Howlers disappeared ?" asked his companion, his attitude gaining aggressiveness as well.

The Light group was taken aback. How come these foes were able to tell who they really were ? The elder's magic should have protected them from any identification, as long as they didn't speak and communicated only via thoughts.

What had happened ? What was that flash of light ? Where did it come from ?

Anyway, it wasn't question time right now, it was battle time !

_(Ulliga) Lieutenant, they know who we are. How is that possible, with the magical trick making us appear as monsters ?_

_(Phyros) Not a clue, Ulliga. But it will always be time for wondering later. Now let's fight them, for they will attack us any second !_

And the Light soldiers engaged the combat against the Dark guards.

/

The rumble was getting louder and louder in the shadow storage. But soon a visual phenomenon added to the auditory one.

Some black shadows appeared in different places of the room : on the floor, on the walls, on the ceiling. And they started to crawl to the center of the premise : the floor ones slid over there, the walls ones flowed down to the floor and then headed towards the floor shadows, the ceiling ones moved to the walls, then down to the floor and aimed at the center.

"What's happening ?" Danny asked, to no one in particular.

Lauren answered him, her eyes still focused on the meeting place of all shadows, a stern expression on her features : "He's arriving".

"Who ?" the jock insisted.

This time it was Chris to answer him : "The Dark Lord".

The red member looked at the blue one : "How do you know, Dude ?"

The tech looked him in the eye : "Intuition. Whoever is coming now has a high status. And now that Silon is dead, I can think only of the Dark Lord as a high-ranked dark alien."

The shadows gathered in a huge upright shape, from the sides of which grew some long extensions.

"You all will regret sneaking into our base !" Skarlar said in a loud voice. "The Master is coming to punish you. Prepare for your final moments !"

Finally, the shadows stopped moving and materialized into a tall black silhouette. The whole body was black, except for the head, which was dark grey. Eight long arms emerged from the flanks of the mysterious being, four on each side. Wings, or rather elytrons, could be seen in his back, and antennas on the top of his head. The mouth was big and twisted, there wasn't any nose but a hole in its place, and the creature hadn't two eyes but many of them, scattered all over the top of his head. His muscular legs ended in misshapen paws with long claws.

Sam felt a violent shiver shake her body. That... _thing_ looked like another hybrid, one between an insect and...

Another shiver ran up her coldsweat back. She swallowed her saliva with difficulty. These eight arms reminded her of her only fear. She would have battled any creature without raising an eyebrow, simply so, but one that looked like... like a...a...

Spider.

Yes, these multiple arms – or legs, since it looked like animal legs – reminded her of an arachnid. So did the multiple eyes on the head, like a spider's. And she _hated_ arachnids ! But what could she do to it ? She had to fight any villain, no matter his/her appearance.

_God, why did it have to be __**that**__ ?_ the African-American asked herself inwardly.

Chris took a look at her, sensing she would probably have a noticeable reaction, given the aspect of the creature. He knew how afraid of spiders she was. And indeed, he could read her dread upon her features. Her fear was visible.

So he gently put his hand over her shoulder. She turned to him in an almost afraid way, and smiled when she found him there. He gently squeezed her shoulder and nodded. She got it and her smile grew bigger, while she slowly closed and reopened her eyes. He grinned as well and let go after long seconds. Then both turned their attention to the Dark Lord.

The horrible hybrid standing in the center of the storage room took the time to watch all of the intruders, then he smirked and opened his mouth.

"Well well well, what do we have here ?"

The voice seemed at the same time rasping and husky. A very unpleasant sound to hear. There seemed to be something... perverse in it. As if the evil of the newcomer flowed through his voice.

Upon hearing it, the three MBC members felt a cold shudder spread throughout their organisms. That creature was scurvy both visually and "auditorily". There was an impression of filth stemming from it. Of filth and of depravity.

"If that's not Lauren and her troops ! They managed to free you, eh ? Well, not for long, my dear ! For you will be back in the energy caisson soon. We haven't finished sucking up your power. And the rest of these will be slaughtered, as you certainly guessed. By the way, who are these humans here ?"

His cruel eyes were all set on the three MBC members.

This time, it was Chris to speak. He knew that Sam was still moved from the monster's aspect, so he thought it better to let her regain her self-confidence and speak for her.

"We are the Monster Buster Club, and we are now allies of the Light Army ! With such an alliance, you can't possibly win ! Don't underestimate us !"

The hybrid creature sniggered as he heard that. He sure wouldn't be impressed : it was the kind of enemy that was too confident in his own power !

Lauren, Ana, Gianell and Desmira couldn't believe their eyes. They knew this evil plotter, of course they did ! And they felt the Impossible's embrace around them as they realize who was standing in front of them.

"HATHHO !" Lauren screamed.

"You... you can't be here ! We destroyed your body completely !" Ana added.

The dark figure let out a loud sinister laughter. He went on for a moment, while his adversaries stared at him both with disbelief and worry. And when he stopped, his voice as he spoke showed some kind of amusement.

"Thank you for making such a compliment ! For yes, taking me for my father is like a compliment to me !"

Lauren's eyes widened more than they possibly could.

"Did you say... your _father_ ? But that means that you are..."

She left her sentence pending, and the black monster finished it for her.

"Exactly ! I'm Hathho's son, and my name is Zythho ! I'm sure it's nice to meet me, isn't it ?" His tone was ironical, and he was delighted to notice astonishment on all the intruders' faces.

There was a moment of awkward silence, during which our heroes tried to absorb the information. Then Ana went on with questions.

"We never heard of a line of descent for Hathho. Were you raised on this planet or on another one ?"

"On planet Zuul, and I have been raised in the hate of Beabas, who killed my father and are now plotting against other planets."

"Lies !" Gianell intervened. "You are lying, Zythho ! Just like you lied when you told Mytylys that I had been the one to murder his grandfather, Hypalin ! You have all made it up and used it as a way to stir up Mytylys's hate against Beabas ! You are the one behind it all !"

The Dark Commander glared at the Light General and was quicker to reply : "How dare you ? You were the one who killed my grandfather ! I know it ! It's no use trying to deny it ! The more you'll try to put the blame on our leader, the worst it'll be for you !"

Zythho sniggered. "As you can see, my men know me good enough to avoid getting tricked by your deceitful claims. You shouldn't try any longer with those shameful assertions. Truth shall always prevail."

Lauren growled in a low voice. That Dark Lord was probably a bigger nuisance than his father. There had to be something to do.

And then, it hit her. Yes… yes, there probably was one thing that she could set up. There was no certainty as to the success of the venture, still it was worth giving it a try.

But if it worked… then it would be some trump against Zythho !

The red alien took a deep breath and suddenly rushed forward. She ducked just when she arrived in front of Mytylys. Surprised, the Dark Commander didn't have time to make a move. The Queen benefited from this advantage and jumped up from the ground, ending straight behind the leopard-looking soldier.

Lauren didn't leave him the time to turn around : she quickly moved her hand forward. Her forefinger and middle finger, joined together, hit violently a precise spot in Mytylys's back.

The result was immediate : the purple-skinned fighter stiffened, his eyes goggled then rolled up under his closing eyelids and the athletic body collapsed heavily on the black floor !

When all of it was over, the Beaba monarch stood up and let out a sigh. It hadn't been easy to do, in terms of decision, a kind of "dice roll", but she had to attempt it. And she now hoped that it would work out…

"Why did you do that, Lauren ?" the Dark Lord asked in a deceptively annoyed tone. "Was it because he refused to believe you, and instead chose to give me all credit ?" He smirked.

"You know just like me that you would have killed him after he would have ceased to be useful for your nefarious plans. He probably would have found out about the truth, the _real_ truth and not the one you claim as such. Or he would have got injured, or any other situation in which he would have become useless to you as a fighter. Hathho was like that, too : he killed whoever couldn't be exploited anymore, just like one throws away the core of a fruit after eating the rest. Being his son, you have to be just as cruel and merciless ! So I preferred killing him now, so at least he would die from the hand of a good person, not from the hand of such a vile one as you !"

"Thanks for the compliment, Lauren !"

Her eyes sent daggers at him.

"Why don't you admit it, Zythho ? Why don't you tell us how you fooled Mytylys ? It's all too bad he wouldn't be here with us to hear all of it : he would have seen how machiavellian you are ! Go ahead, tell us !"

The hybrid freak smiled, and his grin was horrific. This was mostly due to his twisted mouth, which made the smile awful.

"You want the truth, Lauren ? I'm not certain you will like it though… But the choice is yours."

He took a deep, long sigh, wrapped them all in the scornful embrace of his look, then he blinked and his horrible grin stretched up.

"Here is the truth then…"

**(A/N : Oooooh, another cliffyyyyy ! *same as before wz BoS and BB123*)**

/

The lizards were lying on the floor, after what had proven an easy battle. Dark guards were strong but slow, while Beabas were weaker but way swifter. And speed had a lot of importance in a fight.

"I think we have lost our fake appearances, since they identified us as Light soldiers. So, if we no longer can hide behind deceitful looks, then there's no point in going on with telepathy. We can start talking aloud again." said Phyros.

"Yes, Lieutenant" Ulliga replied.

"And now let's check what's inside that room that was so well guarded…"

They pressed a button and the doors slid open.

It clearly was a laboratory. There was scientific material everywhere and people wearing overalls and masks. The latter turned towards the door when they heard it glide open. But then, their eyes goggled when they saw _who_ was coming in : Beabas ! That is : enemies !

The dark scientists started to retreat back to the other end of the room. The Light fighters walked in their direction without a word.

One of the scientists frantically pulled a lever inside the wall.

The next minute, a tiny door opened in a part of the ceiling and a laser canon came down. It started a black ray which moved across the room to where the fox-like creatures stood. These quickly got the danger and split the group.

The ray followed one of them, who had to move incessantly to avoid it.

Meanwhile, Ulliga hurried to a "counter" and seized a huge device, then lifted it with difficulty, aimed at the laser canon and threw it with all of his strength. His shot proved a very accurate one, as the weapon got smashed from the shock, pieces spurting in different directions like a metallic rain.

But the scientists didn't give in. Each of them ran to a Beaba and started to try and make fighting holds. But the men of Queen Lauren had been trained to the art of battling like few extraterrestrials had, and they were excellent fighters. It was an unequal combat.

Soon the dark ones were overcome and knocked out. They fell to the ground where they lay in a disorderly ensemble. The scientists had tried their best, but it hadn't been sufficient.

"But what did these guys think ? That they could outdo us or what ?" Ulliga said.

"Maybe" Phyros replied. "Anyway, let's explore this room in detail, and see if we can find something that could be of use in our quest. And if we find nothing, then we will turn back and try the staircase going up. We must absolutely find something that will be of help !"

The fox-looking aliens started walking inside the room, which had been devastated both from the laser canon's attack and from the fight between the two groups. Retorts had been broken, test tubes smashed, the liquids they held spilt here and there. Some lamps had crashed on the floor. It was a real mess now, but that didn't mean that they couldn't find a useful object intact among all broken things.

That's when one of the men informed his Lieutenant of some interesting discovery he had made. All made their way to the place the soldier was standing at and observed what was there.

It was a transparent tank holding a black liquid that was falling from a bent pipe. That pipe found its origin in the nearest wall and God knows where it continued to.

Phyros watched the dark liquid that kept on accumulating in there and waited for someone to find some use for it.

"What's that stuff ? And what is its purpose ? It seems somewhat creepy to me... What were those scientists doing in this room ? They may have been on a pretty twisted experiment, and if it is so, that's a good thing we came round before these guys could go on with their nefarious activities..."

He kept looking at the black liquid for a moment, wondering where it came from and what the scientific crew destined it to. All of this didn't seem that clear, but one thing appeared as certain : these guys had been up to no good !

Phyros got up and cast an eye over the room. On doing so, he noticed a secured door set inside the wall. There were huge brown bars blocking it. And his sixth sense hinted the Lieutenant that something interesting, something precious was hidden in there. Now what could it be ?

"I wonder what is stored in there..." he said to no one in particular.

Ulliga heard him and gave him a look. He noticed that Phyros was watching the secured path with much focus. He absolutely wanted to know what was inside.

"Well, let's try to find a way to open that door !" the right-hand Beaba said.

This being uttered, he walked to the wall and carefully checked all buttons. One of them was bigger than the other. Bigger and red. The kind that would refer to something important.

Ulliga hesitated for a while, then put his hand on that button and slowly pushed it in.

A noise started right beside.

Ulliga joined the others, who were already witnessing the new phenomenon.

The bars sank into the sides, disappearing inside the wall. The circular central lock slowly spun around and reached the other side of its spherical shape. And once it made it there, it stopped and another noise began.

It seemed like the kind of sound one hears when pressure is released from a quarantine room and air is violently evicted from it.

Finally, the door opened slowly, regularly, taking all its time... Hinges didn't creak : it all happened silently, slowly, as some enigmatic event that no one could figure out.

The door came to a halt, now completely open. All could now see what it had been hiding.

Eyes got fully wide, jaws opened a bit in disbelief, hearts pounded harder...

"Oh my goodness !" exclaimed Phyros...

/

**And a third cliffy ! Never 2 without 3, they say, right ? ;p**

**I'm getting really good at cliffhanging, lately, no ? For everyone's delight, I know, especially BoS's !**

**So what's inside that secured room ? Any idea ? And what will the Beabas do ? Now what about the truth Zythho will reveal ? How will they defeat him ?**

**At last the great enemy is revealed : Hathho's son ! He may tell his adversaries about his plans, who knows ? **

**And now, time has come to fight the ultimate foe. Not forgetting about Cathy's shadow ! It's far from over for the MBC and the Light Army. Will they be able to win ? And MBC to make it back in time on Earth ?**

**That's future tales, eh eh eh ! Gotta be patient, Folks ! 8)**

**In advance many thanxxxx for reviews, comments... and of course for YOUR updates ! Especially BB123's and KM's.**

**Peace, Love, Ecstasy ! =)))**


	19. Secrets

**Gudmornin'… or gudev'nin', Friends & Readers !**

**Oh, oh, what's that angry mob with forks outta my window ? Hum, let's check... *open my window***

**Beachbabe123 : Oh, Leo, why did it take you so long to update ?**

**Blood-of-Silver : I will KILL ya for such a loooooong time !**

**Masterminor : What a long wait, really ! I was almost desperate...**

**CuttieGirl57 : Man, please don't make it last that long again !**

**Yuna Kimitachi : Please try to be quicker next time !**

**NarutoNineTaleFox : So long, Dude, soooooo damn long !**

**The rest : EARLIEEEEEEEER !**

**Me : Ahem... but... it... it wasn't my fault... workload... at the airport... hundreds of delayed baggages... throughout the European hubs... so much work... ya know... I swear I didn't have much time to write... please be merciful... and (*look at BoS*) if ya kill me there's no more story, right ?...**

**Blood-of-Silver : ...**

**Anyway, thanxxxx a lot for the reviews, especially to Masterminor this time (review more often, please !) . **

**Your kind words, all of you, are the fuel to my motivation. **

**Ah, also, I'm so pleased, coz I just read a MBC story I really really enjoyed : MBC CUPID'S WRONG ARROW, by HKDK. For your info, that story made it to second place in the MBC TOP 20 2009, hosted by… HKDK.**

**Oh, and BB123 did finish her story I HOPE IT RAINS. Wonderful ! Gonna read it straight away !**

**Ok, less talking, more acting, right ? Okay, okay, here we go, then !**

**N'joy ! =3**

**/**

**18 _ SECRETS**

**/**

"So you want to know the real story, eh ?" Zythho asked in an ironic tone. His rasping and hoarse was a torture to the ears.

"You perfectly know we want to hear it, so show us you have got the courage to assume your evil plot choices !" Lauren phrased in a firm voice.

The Dark Lord took stared defiantly at the Light Queen for a moment, then he swelled with conceit and smirked once again.

"Well, Skarlar and Silon were the only ones to be in on the secret. They knew that this plotting Beabas moonshine was all an invention of mine. All the others, including Mytylys, have been maintained in the belief that _we_ were the good guys and _you_ Beabas were the bad ones. It was the thing to do in order to have troops blinded by their wrath against the Light people and simultaneously blinded by their faith in the Dark Leader. Nobody ever suspected anything… nobody, until that fateful day, when Hypalin overheard a conversation he should _**never**_ have been listening to !"

The outlines of the picture began to become neater. Hypalin, Mytylys's grandfather, had been murdered on "political" grounds. He had discovered embarrassing things about the leadership of Zythho, and the latter probably feared that would "spill the beans"…

"You got rid of him, didn't you ?" Sam asked in a most angry voice. She guessed that their great enemy was one to act in the meanest ways.

The Dark Lord sniggered.

"No, it wasn't actually me to do it. Since we were at war with the Beabas, I only had to ask the Dark Colonel to… hum, say, make believe that Hypalin had been killed by the leader of the Light Army. And it was you, Gianell, who was therefore chosen as scapegoat."

"You miserable…" said the red-jewel alien through her gritted teeth.

"Too bad Mytylys is dead !" Chris added. "He would be happy to smash your face ! You had his grandfather killed because he had found out about your manipulations ! You deserve to be punished for that ! And so would that Dark Colonel, that murderer, if he was still alive !"

Zythho's eyes gleamed with a perverse glow.

"But who said that the henchman who did it for me was _dead_, mmmmh ?"

There was a few seconds of silence, then Ana was the next one to speak.

"You mean that he's still at your service ?" Then it struck her and she turned to Skarlar. "It was you to do it, wasn't it ?"

The massive lizard smirked evilly.

"You're rather clever, for a Beaba…" he remarked in an ironic manner.

"Beabas aren't as stupid as you think !" she retorted. "You murderer ! You killed Hypalin and then Zythho put all the blame on Gianell's shoulders ! I swear you two will pay for both these ignominious deeds ! You have my word on that !"

The Dark Lord and Dark Colonel both started laughing at this, which only pulled Beabas' and MBC's anger level to the top. The two enemy camps looked defiantly at each other, all willing to teach the adversaries a lesson. No one was ready to let it go. It would be a fight to death. Dice were thrown. No turning back.

After what seemed like an eternity, the spider-looking figure looked cunningly at the Light troops and MBC.

"Well, now you know what happened. And you see I don't hesitate to sacrifice my men for the overall benefit of my plans. And also, I can easily put the blame on somebody else if my strategy requires it. You see, in order to obtain what you've been striving for, one has to make sure he's ready to use _**any**_ means to reach his goals. Yes, whatever it takes to win, it will be chosen, no matter the collateral damage. It's the weak who get preoccupied with victims, with hurt/pain/suffering, with the effects of their acts. You get nowhere with such miserable state of mind. So someone like myself has to get rid of all the emotional aspects, has to stifle conscience's voice and turn up ambition's voice. Only this way can one achieve his goals. Being merciless will be "cruel", "amoral" to you, but in fact it's simply a necessity to get to the top."

He was looking everybody up and down, a satisfied smile stretching his horrible mouth. He perfectly realized how much he had shocked them, how much he seemed disgusting and vile to them, how much they hated him for being so and for having done such contemptible stuff, but he didn't care. Their opinion was the last thing on his mind. Too bad they thought differently, but that would never be a problem to him…

When Sam spoke, it was in a cold, firm tone, the kind that doesn't tolerate any contradiction.

"We must _**absolutely**_ get rid of you. We have to clear out the universe from your presence. And we will."

In her eyes was burning an inextinguishable flame of wrath, and her fists were clenched hard at her sides.

"It's all too bad Mytylys can't punish you himself for what you did to his grandfather !" Ana added.

Zyttho smiled contemptuously.

"It was time for him to take his leave. He's been helping me fine, but there's an end to everything. Skarlar will make a fine new Dark Commander. He's certainly been waiting for it. And now that you know the truth, you will all die ! It's been useless for you to learn what I did, for no one will be able to do anything out of that : you'll all be lying cold at my feet in a moment."

He laughed insanely loud after he ended up his sentence.

Everybody was watching him with a rage expression plastered on their features. Everybody save Lauren, who instead had a cunning smile stretching her lips. Nobody noticed it for a moment, but then the Dark Lord did and his own grin faltered a tad.

"What makes you smile like that, Lauren ?" he asked her in awfully rasping voice.

The Light Monarch's smile imperceptibly grew bigger, and the red Beaba appreciated the slight decrease of Zythho's smile. He was beginning to doubt. The wind was changing.

"Well, I'm smiling because you actually fell into my trap." She merely said, without explaining further.

The evil leader cast his nemesis a somehow worried look. What trap was she talking about ? What was the stake of that trap ? He didn't like both the confident attitude _and_ the words of Lauren.

"What trap ?" he asked, and his tone clearly showed that he had lost his self-confidence.

On the contrary, the Queen's self-confidence started to grow slowly.

"I wanted to make you confess your crime, or rather your organizing the crime of Hypalin, and you just did. But not only did you admit that you had planned that murder : you also gave us the _name_ of the murderer, Skarlar ! And that's what I was willing to obtain as infos ! You lacked caution, Zythho !"

The Dark Lord frowned, and he felt anger rise throughout his body.

"Alright, maybe I admitted that I had asked Skarlar to kill Hypalin, but what good will it be anyway ? Are you seeking revenge for someone you never met, who is a total stranger to you ?"

"If I've been tricking you into confessing your crime, it wasn't for me, but for Mytylys…"

Zythho sniggered again, regaining a bit of his self-confidence.

"For Mytylys ? Well, it would have been of some use should he still be alive. But now that he's dead, it's a bit late, don't you think ? Not a chance his corpse will straighten up and demand revenge, right ?" A scornful laughter followed this ironic question.

But that laughter didn't last that long. It actually stopped right after Lauren had uttered her next sentence.

"Fine, but… who said that Mytylys was dead ?"

The hybrid leader ceased sniggering and took an intense glance at his enemy. She was bluffing, wasn't she ? They had all seen the leopard-like fighter collapse heavily after goggling, and he hadn't been moving since then. And Lauren herself had said that she had killed him to avoid him, Zythho, to get rid of the Dark Commander. So how could he not be dead ?

She was certainly trying to trap him _now_, and not before.

"Nice try, dear ! But I think you're just trying to deceive. Everything here says that he is dead. You admitted yourself having killed him !" the mischievous creature declared.

"Yes, I did. And that was part of the trap. Now, look !" the Queen replied.

And with that said, the Light Monarch walked to Mytylys's body, kneeled down, put two fingers at the exact spot where she had pressed before the purple-skinned alien collapsed, and frowned. There was a short moment of concentration. Then Lauren focused her gaze hard on that spot, stiffened her lips and pushed hard.

Suddenly, Mytylys's eyes opened wide and a discrete inspiration filled his lungs with fresh air. And after a while of intense breathing, he managed to sit down and looked his leader straight in the eyes. And he was frowning hard.

Both Zythho and Skarlar were utterly taken aback upon seeing the Dark Commander up again, when they held for certain that he was dead. This now living body proved them completely wrong, and they lacked words to express how they felt about it. Their wide open mouths conveyed, better than anything else, the great surprise they were experiencing right now.

Mytylys didn't remain long in sitting position and soon was standing again, stiff and decided. His furious stare left Zythho to focus on Skarlar. The Dark Colonel was still too baffled to react and kept on staring at his chief like was he a ghost of some sort.

Nobody uttered a word in the room. The green-jewel alien was observing the Dark Lord and enjoyed his utter daze thoroughly. He had been ironic and down-looking enough previously, and seeing him this distraught was really a great pleasure.

After a long moment of shock, the Shadow Master managed to gather his self-control with difficulty and finally could say something again.

"But… how is that possible ? We all saw him fall dead before ! You can revive corpses, now ?"

"I can under a specific condition, but in the present case, it's not revival, for Mytylys was _not_ dead. He was merely unconscious. But while he was, he could hear everything that you and Skarlar said."

"How did you do that ?"

Lauren couldn't help grin wider.

"You see, Zythho, I have learned, long ago, the exact location, on body parts, of a few vital spots, and what effects you obtain by pressing those spots. The one I pressed on Mytylys has two consequences : it "inactivates" waking _and_ it still keeps hearing active. Which means that the person put in that partial unconsciousness state can go on hearing things and reflect on them. What the person can't do is actually react to it, since all other actions apart from hearing are completely inactive. But speech can still be registered by ears. Therefore, Mytylys did hear everything you and Skarlar said, and of course he understood all of it. And now that he's back to waking, he is in position to actually… _react_ to it !"

The last words were uttered in a tone of underlying menace. Zythho knew well enough what it meant. His once obedient man was about to try to get his revenge. That was obvious from his look.

And indeed, the leopard-looking alien took a step forward, picked up his black whip, raised it and looked intently at the great lizard facing him.

"I'm gonna kill you to avenge my grandfather !"

Then he turned his menacing gaze at the hybrid monster.

"And then, it will be your turn, "Master"… !"

/

The Beabas had gathered around Phyros and Ulliga, and stared in disbelief at what was in front of them.

A green alien with many arms, looking like an octopus but with a head resembling an eagle, was trapped in the small premise. Some drains had been set in different places of the arms, and over the head was a metal helmet from which originated cables that got into the nearby wall and lead who knew where.

It was obviously some sort of "guinea pig" that the dark scientists were using for their shady tests. And it was no less obvious that the creature was exhausted. Its eyes were half closed and its head was swaying slowly, as if to fall forward any moment from passing out.

"This alien…they are using it for some experiments, aren't they ?" Ulliga asked in a voice that betrayed his perceptible fright.

Phyros turned to him, and he didn't look exactly self-confident as well.

"I was thinking the same. We must free it now."

The leader of the third army uttered a few words in Beaba language and two guards approached. Phyros said more and his men started to take off the drains and remove the metal helmet.

The eyes of the creature wandered for a while and stopped on Phyros. Then the mouth opened and a faint voice came out, so weak : "E... energy... need... energy... please... help... me..."

The voice belonged to a female, no doubt. Even in that state of weakness of hers, the green octopus-like being could be identified as female.

Phyros looked intently at the pleading eyes staring desperately at him. He had to do something. So he kneeled down and retained the drained body, to prevent it from crashing upon the black floor. Then he turned his face at the creature's and whispered gently : "Yes, we will help you. But we must find out how to restore your energy to its normal level. And we don't know how this equipment functions... it may take some time..."

The green alien breathed with difficulty, as she tried to gather all of her remaining forces in order to talk on.

"Control... panel... here... on the... right... try... buttons... quick... quick... I'm... exhausted..."

Phyros got it. He turned to his right-hand soldier and gave his orders.

Ulliga got next to the control panel and pushed a few buttons. Nothing appropriate occurred. Until...

The blue button he activated next launched some green ray which aimed right where the poor victim had been immobilized.

The once "guinea pig" painfully turned her head towards the ray. Phyros understood what she was trying to do and tipped her body up in the right direction. And when the octopus-looking extraterrestrial saw the green ray, she started to move restlessly in the Beaba's arms.

"Energy... MY energy... please... put my... body... in front... of... the ray... quick... please..."

The chief soldier did as he had been asked to. He placed the weak body straight in the green light.

And then it happened.

The ray hit the body and soon the latter was surrounded by an intense green light, whose intensity augmented on and on. The eyes opened more and more. The muscles contracted in the arms and in the four sprawling legs. The mouth closed and got a firm appearance. The head got back up. And the expression of the look changed to allow an energetic one to replace the previously weak one.

The green alien sat up, then in no time was up on her feet again. Her features showed decision, courage, and for the most observant, a will of revenge.

"Are you okay now ?" Phyros asked the creature.

"Yes, I am. I'm as strong as I used to be. All this thanks to you. My gratitude to you !" She bowed.

"You are welcome, really !" the Beaba chief merely answered. "Oh, and by the way, my name is Phyros, and this is Ulliga, my right-hand soldier. And these are brave soldiers from the Light Army, under the orders of the Queen Lauren, Sovereign of the Beabas, the Light People who once ruled this planet."

"It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Emily and I come from the Water Planet. I'm the Princess of the Water People. The new Dark Lord had managed to capture me in order to drain my energy, since I'm one of the few creatures who hold the maximal level of alien energy, along with the Light Queen, who I heard about but never met in person. Though, on our planet, she is rumoured to be a very wise and kind person. It would be such an honor to have the privilege to meet her."

Phyros's grin widened on his lips.

"You probably will have this opportunity. Another Light squad managed to free her from the claws of the Dark Lord, and they are now looking for a human shadow belonging to one of our human allies' friend."

Emily stared at Phyros with surprise.

"Did you say... humans ? We heard of these creatures. They come from planet Earth, I believe. And they are said to be very intelligent beings."

The fox-like one nodded in approval.

"I confirm both these informations as correct. These humans have come here to rescue one of theirs, but they agreed to help us find and free our Sovereign, and then defeat the Dark Lord. Her Majesty can help them locate their friend's shadow. This means that humans are helping Beabas, and Beabas are returning the favour. It's a reciprocal relation. It's funny because we had never had Earth inhabitants on our planet, and the first time we get some here, they become our allies, and perhaps even friends later on…"

They remained silent for a few seconds, then Phyros decided to ask the question that was "burning" his lips.

"Why did they kidnap you ? And what experiment were they doing on you ?"

Emily sighed.

"They were using me for energy purposes. The Water people are the holders of much energy and, of course, as the Princess, I am even more. When the Dark Lord came to see me, in my prison, he told me that, to him, I was like an energy tank, and that he'd suck as much power out of me as he could. He said something about secret experiments, but I never managed to find more about it."

Ulliga felt the need to intervene about that.

"He… he said that you were like an energy tank to him ? That's… that's horrible ! What a miserable being that Dark Lord is ! Shame on him for saying so !"

Emily smiled, a very bright, thankful smile.

"Thank you for saying so… hum… ?"

"Ulliga."

"Yes, sorry. Thank you, Ulliga." She turned to the squad chief. "And your name is… Phyros ? Is that correct ?"

Phyros grinned. That new alien here was touching, really.

"Exactly, Emily."

The addressee felt ashamed of herself.

"You can remember my name better than I can remember yours. I'm sorry."

Both smiled, and it was the right-hand alien to reply.

"It's okay, really ! You've been going through so many hardships that we seriously couldn't make any reproach regarding your forgetting about our names. Don't worry."

Emily smiled and was silent for a short while, then her face lit up, as she seemed to recall something.

"There is something I have to tell you regarding the Dark Lord. When I was brought here, I told him that my army would somehow know who had abducted me and that they would be coming to rescue me and imprison him, later handing him over to the galactic authorities. And that's when he told me that no one could vanquish him. I asked why and he told me that the source of his power resided in two crystals that were well hidden. And I later overheard another prisoner say that the source of his power was really close to him, according to what she had heard. Does that help you ?"

Phyros's eyes gleamed with shrewdness.

"Oh yes, it does ! If I understand this correctly, the source of the Dark Leader's power is located in a place that is quite proximate to the place where he himself usually stays in. And that place would have to be… his private headquarters ! Something like a throne room or so. So if we are able to find where that room is, then we have a good chance to be able to find where the Dark Power is hidden, and then have the opportunity to destroy it."

Emily's face suddenly lit up again and she felt excitement run though her whole body.

"Wait ! That other prisoner I mentioned before said that the Dark Lord had his private chamber somewhere in the highest part of the base. If we could find some staircase, then we could try to reach the upper levels…"

It was Phyros's time to boil with excitement.

"When we got there, we came to a crossroad, and we saw, on the other hand, a staircase winding up. That may lead to the Leader's apartments, no ?"

Emily now felt very eager to go and find that mysterious place where the Dark Power dwelt.

"Yes, right you are ! Let's go and try to find out !"

With that said, Phyros lead the way out, followed by Emily and Ulliga, then the rest of the squad.

They left behind them a completely messed room, in which the dark scientists had been conducting their nefarious experiments, in order to bring to reality their Dark Master's plans of universal conquest…

/

Mytylys made another clever move and the fire whip hit Skarlar's right arm with strength. The colossal lizard let out a cry of pain, as he let go of his weapon. He put his left hand on the wound and glared at the purple silhouette frowning at him.

"You'll need more than that to take me down, I tell you ! You're skilful, that's a fact, but I'm tougher than one thinks. You'll see that pretty soon. And once I'm through with you, I'll be the new Dark Commander and nothing will be able to stop us. Nothing _and_ no one ! There won't be any such weaknesses as emotional ones, the kind you're experiencing now !"

The spotted alien spoke in a trembling voice, his psychological dam being cracked in many places and leaving a rage overflow out with force.

"I'll kill you, Skarlar. I'll kill you because you did the same to my beloved grandfather. I'll kill you because you probably did the same to many others before or after. I'll kill you because you are a perverted soul. I always knew it. But I had no particular reason to get rid of you. Now I have one and you won't escape your fate !"

The Dark Colonel smirked. Then he rushed to Mytylys and launched a violent attack. But the Commander was faster and more precise than him, just like the Beaba actually, and he could easily dodge the blow. In return, the purple alien lashed his whip straight into his adversary's face.

Smoke rose from Skarlar's head and a terrible yell shook up the whole room. The huge scaled one screamed in fury, holding the left half of his face.

"You... you'll pay for that, Mytylys ! I'm gonna slaughter you ! But I'll make you die very slowly, like I did with your grandfather ! Yes, I made him die slowly, to make his agony longer and more painful ! That's everything he deserved !"

The leopard-like fighter let out a loud menacing growl from his throat, while his eyes goggled out of utter rage and threw numerous daggers at his enemy.

"Ah ah, yeah, I made his death as horrible as I could, watching pain linger on his features. Sure he was tormented by an indescribable suffering. But he had been somehow looking for it ! Served him right !"

He couldn't talk any further, as Mytylys was running to him, a lethal look shining within his eyes.

Skarlar took his arm back and then forth with full strength, but once again, the nimble alien had been swifter, diving to the ground, catching the Colonel's sword and lifting it vertically with all of the force wrath had put in his body.

There was a muffled sound, as Skarlar choked from the blow. He fell on his knees, his eyes staring intensely into the void before him, not believing what had just occurred.

_No... no, he **can't** have got me ! It's impossible ! I was meant to slaughter him. How... could this... ever... happen ?_

He crashed on the floor, back first, and blood filled his mouth.

Meanwhile, Hypalin's grandson stepped to him, picked up the sword, now tinted with the fatal brown colour of the lizard's blood. He looked at that blood for a moment, then walked up to the dying body, stopped above his once henchman and looked down at him.

"Didn't I tell you that you would die from my hand, Skarlar ? I promised myself that it would happen, and I always keep my promises. You've done enough mischief in your life. It's time to pay the final price."

Skarlar tried to smirk, but only spat more blood. His eyes gleamed with a perverse glitter.

"You... wanna... know some...thing ? I... I... tortured... Hypalin... for a... long while... to... prolong... his agony... ah ah... ah... how... about that ? Ah ah AAAAAAAAAAAAH !"

Skarlar was still laughing when Mytylys gave him the final blow, with a terribly loud shout, screamed with all the air within his lungs.

The lizard's body shook for a moment, then came to a standstill.

"You laughed your last laughter, you swine ! Nobody will regret you ! And now is time to..."

But in this minute, his body stiffened, his eyes goggled to the maximum, his mouth opened wide. And a moan of suffer could be heard.

He dropped his whip, dropped the stained sword, and tried to resist the incommensurable pain that was overflowing his organism.

_No... no... not now... not yet... it's too early... no... oh no... why...?_

The Dark Commander let out some muffled sound, tried to utter something, but the pain was too intense for him.

And in a matter of seconds, he had collapsed over the body of the alien he had just killed with his own sword...

/

**And one more cliffyyyyyyyyyyyy ! For everybody's pleasure ! (Hum, _almost_ everybody... *throw a look on the side, at BoS and MM*)**

**Gee, I'm finally through ! How many days did I have to take to write this ? Not a clue ! But I gotta bear my work a rant for preventing me to publish this sooner ! **

**Anyway, it's out finally ! Man, does it bring relief ! It was a real challenge this time !**

**Hope ya liked that one ! Secrets, a new character, a mysterious dark source of power, an enigmatic death... plenty of suspense, right ?**

**Thanks to everybody who'll bother to read and, hopefully, review ! Your opinion keeps me going ! So please, let me know what ya think !**

**A personal thank you to BB123, who finally finished her I HOPE IT RAINS. Too bad you aren't pleased wz it. But given the great plot, the complexity of the intrigues and the nice deceiving talents of the characters, I perso consider it a very interesting and successful story ! I found the last chapter very touching and sweet, really ! (I love romances involving Sam) Bravo ! And I can't wait to read more from ya, Lauren !**

**Alright, time to let you express yourselves ! Bring it on, Folks !**

**Loads of thanxxxx for every reader outta here !**

**Take care, Friends !**

**Peace, Love, Ecstasy !**


	20. The tide is turning  I

**Howdy, Uncle Sam ! ;P**

**Ah, we're now July 24th, and I can FINALLY start my new SL chappy. Boy/Girl, has this been long ! The condition of the FF writers isn't (anymore) what it used to be…**

**Anyway, here I am, hyper as can be, back from a great week. Great, yes, coz I have been working only 2 days (Monday/Wednesday); I have been to 2 concerts (M83, French electro band; Bloc Party, British indie rock band) at the Paleo Festival, Switzerland's most famous music festival; I have been able to publish my latest SL chapter; I finally saw my brother again after so many weeks; and I have read 4 stories from Cathyrulz4ever, which I all found great.**

**Ah, almost forgot : I read yesterday a magnificent oneshot, I LEARNED FROM YOU, by the everso great Beachbabe123 (hats off again, Lauren !). Guys, you HAVE to read this so moving story ! It's filled with grace and nostalgia, and touches your heart in the most beautiful way !**

**Alright, thanxxxx again for all your reviews, notably this time to CutieGirl57. I would like to give three (!) thumbs up to you, Cris, coz thanks to you, I got my 50th review ! Gotta celebrate that, right ? Thank you so much, Cris' ! You ROCK !**

**So much for babbling ! And now, let's move on, you great readers !**

**N'joy ! =)**

**/**

**19 _ "THE TIDE IS TURNING" (I)**

**/**

Zythho was smirking as he took his hand down. It was done, done for good. The potential danger had been gotten rid of. Everything was back in hand again. There just needed to have one more slight adjustment made : kill all those Beabas and that MBC !

After that, everything would be fine again… and things would just go on the same efficient way they had been for months…

"Murderer !" Sam shouted on the top of her lungs. "You swine ! We will make you pay for that ! You go as far as killing your own men ! You are the vilest creature I've ever met !"

The Shadow Master let out a long contemptuous laughter.

"Why, thank you for the compliment ! It's a pleasure to disappoint you ! But be sure I'll find the best way to thank you, human girl ! I'm gonna deal away with your friends and those Light killjoys, and you'll be last on my list. But then I won't kill you immediately, no. I'm gonna do "things" to you. And I'll make it nice and slow, to have it last as long as can be ! Your lower body will scream for mercy !"

Sam felt a disgust shiver shake her person, for she had guessed what that perverted creature had in mind. So, even there, on a distant planet, there were beings which let their minds wander up to the forbidden zone of rape.

The young human felt her stomach contract at the thought of being violated by an alien that resembled at the same time a spider _and_ an insect. Rape with humans was already an horrible thing, so rape with _something_ that had animal shape…

But she fought these awful thoughts off her brain and focused her emotions on anger. The anger she now felt surge more and more inside of her, for hearing the enemy utter such ignominious things.

And the wrath then became tangible, in words.

"Get lost, miserable cockroach ! You think you can smash us all, but careful : it may end up just the reverse way ! You just wait and see what happens !"

"Yeah, yeah, go on menacing, Girl ! I'm not impressed ! And now, it's time for the real thing, dear foes ! Get this !"

Zythho raised his arms and clapped his hands quickly. Some dark spheres appeared around his hands and began turning around, the circles they were making getting always bigger and bigger, as they slowly floated away from the Dark Lord and neared his adversaries.

The size of those black balls grew and grew, until these were as huge as tiny suns. That's when they reached the group.

Each one had to move quickly in order to avoid the dark energy globes, and fortunately, each Light/MBC fighter managed to do so in time.

But Zythho was already launching a new attack, so they had no time to rest.

Yet Lauren didn't lose time and stepped aside early enough to cast a counter-attack at the Dark Lord. She spread her arms wide and focused her gaze on her nemesis. Soon, shimmering tornadoes were forming around her arms.

The Light Monarch waited until the tornadoes were imposing enough to be hurled at the maleficent leader, then she put both her arms in the same way, parallel in front of her and directed at him, and she released the full force of the attack.

The tornadoes sped up towards Zythho and the later moved out of the way just in time. Then he raised his hands again for a new assault.

But he simply had avoided the tornadoes without making a visual check on them afterwards. Should he have, he would have seen the powerful whirlwinds swiftly make an about-turn and rush again to the dark figure.

Still, he hadn't had the cautious reflex to do so, and that mistake cost him a bad wound, as the Light twisters hit him hard from behind.

Hathho's son let out a loud scream, pain mixed with rage and surprise. He fell heavily and winced from the awful ache he had got.

"Don't underestimate my powers, Zythho !" Lauren called out to him. "And my anger against you will make my attacks tenfold more powerful ! You would fool yourself thinking you have already won !"

"Shut up, Lauren ! Shut up ! You will regret that ! You will regret all of it ! I swear I'll have you dead before the end of the day !"

"We'll see…" the red alien said in a decided tone.

/

Gianell and Sam kneeled down by Mytylys's body and turned it over. Against all expectations, the purple being wasn't dead yet. He was breathing thick, and it was obvious that his chest was rising and sinking with difficulty, as pain paralyzed his full body and prevented him from breathing. A previously easy action as this had now become a real ordeal to him.

"Mytylys… Mytylys… can you hear me ?" the General gently said, her face above his.

The Dark Commander kept his eyes closed for a long moment then slowly opened them, but only half. His pupils moved to the red-jewel Beaba staring intently at him. He blinked, almost in slow motion, and closed his eyes, then reopened them. He was gathering his remaining strength to reply.

"I'm sorry…" he phrased with visible difficulty "sorry for… suspecting you… of plotting…"

He stopped breathing for a moment then spoke on.

"I was… blinded… by my loyalty… to Zythho…How wrong… I have… been…"

The MBC leader delicately laid her hand over his left shoulder.

"It's okay, Mytylys" she answered him "You didn't know. He has been maintaining you in a deceitful environment the whole time. How could you guess he was lying ? You didn't witness your grandfather's death, and since you hadn't any clue about him making up wrong infos in order to ensure the allegiance of his troops, there was no way you could have guessed anything. You are a victim, just like us. A victim of his shameful betrayal. So please don't apologize, for you don't need to !"

The Dark Commander let out what seemed like a sigh, but this was made with such apparent pain that even this small effort cost him, while it used to be no big deal at all when he was in good condition.

"Thank… you… human… you are… very sensible… and I can… feel… now… that you have… a pure soul… what is… your name…? …I forgot it…"

"It's Samantha, but call me Sam. All my friends do."

Mytylys managed to smile, although it made him immediately wince.

"You… you consider me… your friend… despite my behaviour… to you… earlier…?"

It was Sam's turn to smile, a sweet, caring smile. She didn't know much about him, but she had sensed he was different from the lizards, that he was a good person. And she therefore found herself behaving nicely to an alien she had been about to badly fight earlier.

"At least you're no enemy to me. Now please don't move and don't talk. No effort. We'll try to see if the Queen can come and heal you."

Ana had come nearer and kneeled down as well. She felt a dull pain ache her heart, as she saw that poor Mytylys about to pass away, after he had been so despicably betrayed by his master.

"How is he ?" she asked Sam and Gianell.

"He is very weak, and it doesn't seem to me he will be able to stay alive for much longer..." the General replied to her.

"Ana, do you think it would be possible for you to replace Lauren in the fight for a moment ? Just time for her to try to save Mytylys, if she can."

"Of course, Sam. I will go tell her."

But before the Chancellor could actually make any move towards her sovereign, the Dark Commander had raised his hand.

"No... no... useless... she can't... do anything... besides... I deserved it..."

"Don't say that !" the golden-eyed girl sharply exclaimed. "You didn't deserve this ! Never ! It should be Zythho suffering instead of you ! He betrayed you all the way. He used you like his puppet, and now gets rid of you as if nothing, after you've been serving him loyally. He has been doing much evil to you. So no, you **really** don't deserve all this !"

Mytylys tried to smiled but let out another muffled cry of pain.

"Thank you... I... I think I... can still... do something... for you... before I get... to the other... side... listen to me... carefully..."

He winced once again from the pain, which was getting slowly but surely unbearable within in his whole organism.

"Zythho... has… his powers... kept in... in two... two crystals... that are... in... in a... hideout... in the... throne... room... one crystal for... for... for his... offensive power... and one... for his... defen-... defensive... power... If you... destroy... these... crystals... you... you have... a... chance... to... to... to defeat... him... Aaaarrrh !"

The dotted alien let out a heartbreaking pain scream. He was now visibly declining faster, as life was rapidly deserting his body. He soon would be too weak to even utter a single word, maybe even to whisper.

Ana leaned forward and put her hand horizontally above the victim. Her eyes glowed slightly for a few seconds.

The next moment, a tiny spark rose from the dying body and reached just below the hand of the blue-jewel Beaba, which closed slowly around the spark, and when the Chancellor took her hand away, the spark had vanished.

Ana then put her closed hand inside her clothes and took it off again after a few more seconds. She seemed to have put the spark safely against her own body.

Mylytys coughed and spat some yellow liquid. The other couldn't guess, but that meant that he was almost dead, as that liquid was produced by the body of his race only a few minutes before the final breath.

Sam's eyes were wet, but not only hers. Gianell's were as well, and even Ana's. Mylytys could have been an ally of theirs. He was a brave folk, and a good person deep within. He had been deceived by his cruel leader and paid the highest price. They all felt so sorry for him, and so sad about his now close decease. Their hearts were torn by grief, as if he had been one of their own soldiers, and not initially a potential enemy.

Hypalin's grandson was breathing with always more difficulty, but he still found the strength to speak on.

"These... crystals... are... hidden... in the... the... throne... room... which... is...in… in the... right... wing... of... of... of the... base...the... wing... oppo-... opposite... from... this... one..."

His eyes were closing slowly but he focused all his remains of energy to give them the decisive clue.

"They... they... are... hidden... be-...behind... the... throne...and... to... to... open... the... hideout... you... you... must... pull... one of... the... one of... the... Aaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrh..."

And as he let out a long breath, his eyes closed slowly and his heart beat his last beat. His lungs emptied completely for this last breath. His mouth slightly opened. And a final discrete moan of pain died on his lips.

Sam was silently crying, Gianell and Ana did their best to hold back their tears, but couldn't manage to. They knew he had been a brave fighter, an honest one, who basically sought revenge for his grandfather's murder. Nothing else. And he had been betrayed by the very one he had always shown loyalty to. It was just too much to endure : disappointment, sadness, pain, disgust, hate...

And hate indeed was what showed up in Gianell's next words.

"I'm going to destroy Zythho ! I will kill him, NOW !"

But Ana put her hand over her soldier's shoulder.

"General, you can't do anything against him ! He's too powerful, and uses magic ! Only Lauren and I could rival his might. What we should do is try to find a way to weaken him. And Mylytys gave us a very helpful clue before passing away : he mentioned crystals holding Zythho's powers, both offensive and defensive. If we could destruct those, then, as he said, we have a chance to win."

Sam wiped the tears off her eyes and sniffed. Then she took a breath and, ignoring the pain still wrapping her heart, she spoke up.

"He said that they are in the throne room, which itself is located in the right wing, the one opposite from here. That means that it's where the third squad is now. _They_ could actually go locate the crystals, and perhaps find a way to destroy them."

Gianell, who had been drying her eyes as well, suddenly became alert again and focused on their best chance to defeat the Dark Lord.

"You are right, Sam. We have to contact them now. I'm on it !"

And the General started to focus, making it back to telepathic communication…

**/**

**Eh eh, doesn't that look like a cliffy in disguise ? *smirks at Bos***

**Alright, so for once, I'll have to make two parts for one chapter, coz I swear that the said chapter currently counts around 5700 words, as it is !**

**So, end of part one, Folks !**

**On to the sequel of it !**


	21. The tide is turning  II

**Alright, I hope ya enjoyed the first part. And now's time for the second one !**

**N'joy ! (bis)**

**/**

**20 _ "THE TIDE IS TURNING" (II)**

**/**

The troop led by Phyros had fought successfully all the lizards of that area, and had now arrived in a very imposing hallway leading straight to an impressive door.

That door was dark grey and spangled with black arrows pointing down. In the center of it was embedded a kind of mask who represented a screaming face. The expression of that face was one of pain. It seemed as if someone had been taking a cast of the face while its owner was tortured and made a mold out of it, and it was that mold that was placed on the door.

"It's... it's horrible !" whispered Emily, deeply shocked.

"Whoever did this has a really insane mind..." commented Ulliga.

"Quite so !" conceded Phyros "Now, let's try to open that door and see what's behind."

He seized the black doorknob and turned it.

The door opened slowly, creaking terribly.

The group entered and found a large room lavishly furnished. The chests, cupboards, tables were all either dark grey or black, as were the draperies hanging at regular intervals, and it was evident all this had been crafted by very skilled artisans. The one who could afford such magnificent stuff had to be wealthy and high in the social scale.

But there was more. Additionally to these common elements, there were other ornamental ones which were far from usual... Skulls were placed on the walls, every now and then !

"Something tells me that we have found the apartments of the Dark Lord. And these must be the... remains of his enemies. He put them here as trophies symbolizing his victories. What a cruel being he must be !" remarked Ulliga.

_(Gianell) Lieutenent, can you hear me ? This is the General._

Phyros blenched when he heard the voice in his head. He didn't expect it, but also, their squad had been talking aloud for moments now, so telepathy had been left aside for a while. That's why he was doubly surprised of hearing Gianell communicate with him via thought.

He focused and managed to reply rather quickly.

_(Phyros) Yes, General. I can hear you loud and clear. What can I do for you ?_

_(Gianell) Lieutenant, will you please let me know how you are progressing and what you have found ?_

_(Phyros) Of course, General. We have inspected most of this part of the base and defeated almost all if not all of the guards. And we have saved an alien named Emily. She comes from planet Watermia, that some also call the Water Planet. She is the Princess of the Water People. The Dark Scientists had been keeping her imprisoned in their laboratory and using her as a source of energy for their installations. We managed to restore her power to its highest level and are now in what probably are the apartments of the Dark Lord._

_(Gianell) Did you say... his apartments ? Then you must be in the throne room !_

_(Phyros) Hum... I haven't personally checked out the whole premise for a throne, but please leave me just one minute..._

The Light Lieutenant started to walk in the large room and soon spotted an assemblage of skulls disposed in an upright shape.

He approached it and noticed that there was a place to sit, in the middle of the skull heap. There also were what looked like arm-rests, on the sides. Thus the whole object resembled a chair... or a throne.

The overall aspect of the "furniture" he was looking at made Phyros give a grimace of disgust. That place really held horrible things.

_(Phyros) There is something here that is made of numerous skulls and... well, it looks more or less like a throne, in its general look._

_(Gianell) Alright. Then you are in the good place. Now, listen to me carefully, Lieutenant. The Dark Commander we met here said something about two crystals holding the powers of Zythho..._

The Light Lieutenant still ignored the Dark Lord name, so he got wondering about that name.

_(Phyros) Zythho ?_

_(Gianell) Ah yes, you didn't know his name yet. Well, Zythho is the name of the Dark Lord. And apparently, he keeps the source of his might in two crystals that are presumably hidden in the throne room._

Crystals...

Phyros recalled something. Hadn't Emily said something about crystals ? That she had heard a fellow prisoner confide to her that the dark powers dwelt in two crystals ?

It seemed to him that it was what she had mentioned...

_(Phyros) Yes, I believe Emily mentioned crystals holding the powers of... Zythho._

_(Gianell) So you already knew about these crystals ? That's a good thing !_

_(Phyros) Yes indeed, General. But the problem is that Emily doesn't know where exactly they are. According to what she said, the source of the Dark Lord's powers is located next to him. So we deduced that the place involved would most probably be his private chamber, because that's the nearest to him. Now, where inside of that room ? That's what we will try to determine._

When Gianell dispatched her next thought, Phyros noticed excitement in it.

_(Gianell) Excellent ! Well, we have almost all of the relevant information regarding the precise place where the crystals are hidden. The Dark Commander said that the hideout is behind the throne, and you have to pull something to reveal it._

Phyros moved aside and took a glance at what was behind the throne.

He could see some kind of recess, which seemed as a short path. Torches lit it up, and Phyros could distinctly see the wall at the end of the alcove.

_(Phyros) I can see a sort of dead end behind the throne. There may be some secret passage there. But how to open it ?_

_(Gianell) Mylytys said that there was something to pull. Actually, his precise words were : "you must pull one of the..." and he couldn't finish his sentence. "One of the" implies that there are several things looking alike, and one of them must be pulled. Now, you should look for many objects of the same kind in the vicinity of the dead end._

_(Phyros) At your command, General !_

The Lieutenant took a panoramic look in front of him. There weren't many objects of similar appearance gathered there. Actually, there seemed to be only those torches lighting up the recess. But pulling some torches…?

Still, as unconvinced as he was, the chief of the third squad decided to give it a try. He headed up to the left flame row and tried the first of the five ones. Nothing. Then the second one. Nothing again. The third one. Still nothing.

He soon ended up with that side of the dead end and turned toward the other one.

It happened to be a repetition of before's efforts. No positive outcome as he tried each in turn.

_Right, so it doesn't trigger anything. I knew there few chances of success. I must try to find something else round here…_ he thought as he pulled the last of all torches.

He almost gave a cry as the metallic part holding the firebrand followed his hand, yielding the torch to come out from the wall, at the end of some horizontal stone lever.

When he couldn't pull it any further, he took his hand off and turned his head towards the ending wall on his left. There was a muffled noise somewhere and that portion of the dead end started to disappear : the wall was shifting aside, slowly getting inside a part of the perpendicular wall on the right and thus making the hideout known from Phyros.

As the shifting wall was completely out of sight, the Light Lieutenant called the others, stating he had found the secret compartment.

They quickly got by his side and all of them entered the hideout.

It was a tiny room, which held only two objects : two diamond-shaped crystals, one light grey, the other dark grey. They were shining irregularly, in a repetitive sequence of lighter-dimmer. The intensity of their glow thus kept on diminishing and augmenting alternatively, all the time.

_(Phyros) General ! We have found the two crystals. The hideout could be opened by pulling one of the torches from the dead end. _

_(Gianell) Great job, Phyros ! Now you must find a way to destroy these things. By doing so, you can weaken considerably the Dark Lord. One of the crystals holds his offensive powers, the other one his defensive ones. Please let me know when you have found a way to destroy them !_

_(Phyros) At your command, General !_

"These are the crystals I've been telling about. That's where the dark powers reside. It's time for us to deal the Dark Lord a hard blow" said Emily, an encouraging smile stretching her lips.

"Yes, but how do we do to smash these ?" asked Ulliga.

The Waterian grinned in a very cunning and self-confident way.

"Leave it to me..." she whispered, frowning but still smiling.

/

Zythho cast dark arrows at Lauren and the latter dodged once again. She retaliated by a light wave. But once again, the Shadow Master used his dark shield to protect himself. He had been having recourse to that barrier many times now, making it impossible for her to reach him.

Lauren was now short of attacks. She had been trying all the fighting techniques she knew to break that shield, but none worked. And close quarter combat had become useless long ago. There had to be some way to weaken the Dark Lord. There just _had_ to be !

"Ah ah !" laughed Zythho "Getting tired of it all, dear ?"

The red fox-like alien was indeed a tad tired, inhaling with a bit of effort now. She had been giving her best in order to successfully fight the hybrid creature, but his protection mean was a hinder to her.

"Oh, maybe my shield is a problem to you ?" he asked in a fake-sorry voice. "So maybe I could remove that shield and see if you can really get me..."

And the next minute, the light grey aura surrounding him vanished and he spred his arms aside, as a way to mean "come on, hit me now".

The Queen saw in this a chance to possibly get him so she focused hard and lifted both arms up in the air, as fast as she could.

Some lightening fell down on her arms and she then promptly took her arms down, in the direction of her enemy.

Zythho dodged but his eyes widened as he saw that Lauren had cast another attack immediately after the first one. She was clearly trying to get him with a surprise attack. He didn't expect that, and he hadn't enough time to avoid it. So he quickly took his hand forth before him, in order to recreate the shield.

Nothing happened.

Zythho just had enough time left to utter : "But..." and he got hit hard by the light missile Lauren had been sending at him three seconds after directing her lightning at him.

He plummeted to the ground, where he crashed heavily.

When he was in standing position again, his face was wincing and he was breathing with obvious difficulty.

"But how did you manage to get rid of my shield ?"

He made some new attempts to have his protecting aura around him, but to no avail.

"How did you do, Lauren ?"

His voice had risen to a shout.

The Light Monarch smiled, although she was at a loss herself.

"I didn't do anything, Zythho. So if your protection power is down, it has got nothing to do with me. But still, this sudden weakness of yours is for the best ! For if I now can reach you, there is a chance for me to beat you !"

The hybrid monster didn't reply to this. He was absorbed into a deep thought.

_Wait ! Did she say... that my protection power was down ? My protection power... NO ! Could it be that someone found the crystals ? No, I won't let this happen ! And since I still have my offensive powers..._

/

Emily was radiant.

The light grey crystal lay smashed to pieces at her feet. And in a matter of seconds, the tiny shining bits started to generate smoke. That smoke grew thicker, until...

All the pieces had disappeared from the black floor. Nothing was left of the crystal.

"Well done, Emily !" Ulliga complimented her "One more left and it's likely that our friends get a chance to defeat the Dark Lord !"

"Here I go again !" the green alien exclaimed.

She positioned herself right in front of the dark grey rhombus shining alternatively and brought all of her six arms in horizontal position before her, like before. And like before again, a sphere of water appeared at the extremity of each arm. The six spheres swelled more and more, and once they had reached a certain size, the Waterian gave a slight impulse to her arms. And like before once more, the liquid balls shot at the crystal and reached it all together, a loud whistling filling the room as they did.

The attack was as efficient as previously, and the dark grey shape didn't resist the intensity of the blow. It exploded in thousands parts, which fell around, everywhere in the hideout.

Same as last time, smoke started from each bit, and about one minute later, all trace of the crystal had vanished from the room.

"We did it !" Phyros enthusiastically shrilled. "We destroyed the dark powers ! And now, the Light Army is in the ideal position. It can vanquish the evil leader !"

Emily was the living image of joy.

"And what do we do now ?" she inquired. "Do we meet up with your friends, who are fighting the Dark Lord ?"

Phyros smiled bright.

"Quite so !" he announced.

And the next moment, they were gone from the throne room, where they had given the fatal blow to the Dark Might.

/

Zythho had been gathering enough energy to launch one of his most powerful attacks. He swung his arms forth, towards his enemies.

The massive black cloud rushed to the Light squad and wrapped everyone.

They all screamed as a terrible pain filled their bodies, and all collapsed from the ache boring their organisms.

"Ah ah ah !" Zythho triumphantly laughed out. "I'm not down yet, folks ! And if I can't protect myself, I can still hurt you badly ! But it's been too long for now ! Let's end it up once and for all !"

He put his hands in cup shape above his head and an enormous black sphere soon appeared.

Zythho laughed insanely on the top of his lungs.

"And bye for good, losers !" he vociferated, as he brought his arms down as quickly as he could, stopping them in direction of his foes, who were just recovering from the last blow.

_No way !_ thought Sam. _We aren't up yet and he's launching what perhaps is his most powerful attack. It can't be the end ! He can't win !_

The huge black sphere left his hands and started to rush towards the Light team.

And dissolved into thin air halfway.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO !" shouted Zythho.

"Yes !" screamed Lauren in reply. She had managed to get up before the rest and had been concentrating her energy.

And she cast one of her greatest spells.

Dozens of light rays came out of nowhere from every part of the room and converged towards the Shadow Leader.

The latter did his best to avoid them, but was soon overwhelmed. And his yells got deafening as the multiple rays pierced the screen of his body and got to both his heart and brain.

He shouted louder but the rays intensified, and always more and more rays came hit his two vital organs.

At last there was a dark light explosion from his body and the latter fell like a stone, crashing heavily in a distance.

"We got him !" Danny screamed. "We got this bastard !"

"Bravo, Your Majesty !" Chris told her.

"We all owe you our lives !" observed Sam.

The green-jewel alien grinned wider than she ever had up to now.

"No, thank you all, Beabas and MBC, for helping ! We wouldn't have been able to beat him otherwise. It's not just me who did it, it's all of us ! It's our victory, not mine !"

Sam smiled at this.

_What a modest sovereign she is ! It's an example for all ! If only humans were that wise..._

After Lauren had repeated the same words to her soldiers, who all bowed to her, she headed towards Zythho and stopped by his body.

She could sense that there was no more dark energy flowing from that organism.

He was dead.

It was the end of the Shadow era.

"Your Majesty, are you alright ?" Ana asked her leader.

The Fic Queen grinned.

"Yes, Ana. I am. Just feeling a tad bruised and tired, but it will fade away. I'm just so sad for Mytylys. While I was fighting Zythho, I could feel his aura disappear. It's such a pity. I know he was a good lad, and had been manipulated by his master. Poor of him ! May he rest in peace !"

They all got silent for a minute, then Lauren spoke up again.

"You had three objectives, I believe ? Free me, defeat the Dark Leader and find your friend's shadow. Two of these goals have been reached, time for the third one, right ?"

"Oh yes !" Danny exclaimed in a rush "Cathy's shadow ! We must find it quickly ! It took us so much time to fight all these guys ! We mustn't have much more !"

"You're right, Danny !" the tech admitted. "We don't have much time left, I'm afraid. Isn't it, Sam ?"

The black girl took a look at the tiny hourglass Katie had given her.

Most of the silver dust had already fell, so there shouldn't remain more than one or two hours.

"My God !" she screamed. "I hadn't checked the remaining time for so long now, because of all those fights who demanded all my attention. And I now see we're soon done ! We _**must**_ hurry !"

At these words, Lauren turned to face the glass cells holding the shadows. She brought her hands together, like in a praying position.

And concentrated her sensing powers.

All of the cells' doors opened simultaneously, letting all the shadows out. The latter all fell to the floor.

The storage room was now scattered with black shapes.

Lauren frowned harder.

One of those black shapes rose from the floor and floated up to the Light/MBC group and stopped in front of Sam, Danny and Chris.

A familiar shadow, that was...

"Cathy !" they screamed all together.

**/**

**Waow, at last ! What a mammoth chapter that was, both parts altogether ! Even worse than THE LONG WALK. Hence my splitting it up in two, otherwise… poor eyes of yours, glued to the screen for soooooo long… ;P**

**Hope you're all hanging to the edges of your seats, coz there's more to come. It ain't over yet, even if we're nearing the end.**

**Stay tuned for the next bunch. And don't worry, it will be shorter, eh eh !**

**Later, take care... and write on your stories, duuuuuuh !**

**Peace, Love, Ecstasy !**


	22. One last fight

**Buongiorno/Guten Tag/Gruezi/Sbah el kheir/Holà/Hej/Hallo/Bonjour/Hello !**

**Eh eh, here are the many ways in which I can greet. In order : Italian/German/Swissgerman/Arabic/Spanish/Swedish/Dutch/French/English.**

**Yes, I can REALLY say 'hello' in all those languages !**

**What about you, Folks ? How many languages ? :)**

**Alrighty, thanxxxx again to the maxxxx for your nice reviews/comments ! I'm so glad to hear you like it all that much ! It's a delight getting all this positive feedback from you !**

**Right, so they _finally_ managed to get Cathy's shadow. But they still need to get back to Earth via the interdimensional passage. It's still some way ahead. And there also could be some enemies to fight on the way back…**

**Will they be able to make it in time ?**

**That's for you to find out… by reading ON !**

**N'joy !**

**/**

**21 _ ONE LAST FIGHT**

/

Her eyes had been closed up to now, but they opened all of a sudden, and she stared at the wall in disbelief.

There had been that strong feeling inside of her, that informed well enough of an important change.

There it was !

She could hardly believe it, but there it _was_ ! At last !

How long had the waiting lasted ? She couldn't say right in this moment, but the only answer popping inside of her mind was : _much, much too long_…

She had been clinging on to that hope, that almost crazy hope of hers, and there it had been.

Time passing, she had kept on believing in it…

…and time had proved her right !

Just in this very moment !

It was time to speak now. Time to spread good news around.

She parted her lips and a warm breath exited her mouth.

The sound of her voice as she called nearly seemed strange to herself, as she hadn't spoken for so long. Silence had been her "speech grave" for so long…

He came in slowly. His face gave away his exhaustion. He had barely been sleeping these past days, let alone eating. His eyes were red, both underneath and inside the globes.

She felt deeply upset at this sight and the lump in her throat wouldn't let her quiet, giving a lasting pain she was forced to deal with each very time she saw him.

But this time was different. This time she could regain control over her emotions. This time, she had a trump in her sleeve. A trump in the form of the best news since long.

"Hugo, they found it !" she exclaimed in a voice imbued with joy.

"What do you mean, Katie ?" the weary Rhapsodian asked, with more energy than the previous times he talked.

"They found her shadow !" the slanted-eyed woman replied. "They just did ! A while ago ! Which means that they will be turning back now !"

Mr Smith's eyes got as wide as they could. He had kept them half open most of the time, lately, but now… now they were goggling for good ! Finally some positive news…

"Are you serious ?" he couldn't help asking her. He really found it hard to believe it, for he had been waiting and waiting, and saw the black veil gain always more ground on Cathy's body, and time passed, and nothing new turned up, and he felt desperate, and… and…

…and he badly needed to hear Katie tell him that it was _true_. That they _had_ found it.

His elderly friend walked up to him and calmly laid her hand on his shoulder, slightly squeezing it.

"Yes, Hugo. I'm serious. And I can certify you that I'm not wrong on that. My 6th sense tells me that Sam, Danny and Chris just located her shadow. Cathy's energy is now just beside their own energies, at the very same spot. What they need to do now is make their way back to the transfer place, the one on which they arrived when they went through the interdimensional passage. But that's encouraging news, right ?"

She smiled, a soft, comforting smile.

His mouth, which had lost the will to smile so many hours earlier, seemed to hesitate. But it finally arched up at the corners. It wasn't a bright smile, but it was better than nothing.

"I…I had started getting desperate about it. I'm sorry to have been doubting, but it has been getting critical now and… I wasn't so sure, Katie. I wanted to believe, to put my faith in them, but… the disease progressed on and on, and there were no news…"

The Minnie inhabitant squeezed the old man's shoulder once again.

"It's alright, Hugo. I know what you've been through. I do. So I'm not blaming you about this. But you can now start to relax. They have it. And I trust them to be on time here with the shadow to save Cathy !"

The last sentence had been uttered with evident enthusiasm.

Mr Smith nodded, but his smile didn't vanish. And some weight got off his heart.

He turned to watch his granddaughter.

The blonde alien lay absolutely motionless in her bed. Most of her face was black, actually until above her eyes. The eyebrows, forehead and hair were the only parts of the young body that weren't black yet.

He was looking at an almost completely black body.

But now, there was hope. There really was !

And deep within his mind, although uncertainty was still present, hope had emerged again from the muddy waters of despair and was now targeting doubt, that same doubt which had darkened his usual "joie de vivre".

No, it wasn't lost. And perhaps it _**never**_ would be…

/

"It's INCREDIBLE ! We FOUND it !" Danny shouted with the full force of his lungs. He clearly hadn't been that hyper since the start of their mission.

Sam smiled at him, as did Chris.

"It's very pleasing to see you that enthusiastic, Dan' !" the leader commented.

"Yeah… and we've been missing that enthusiasm of yours, you know…" the tech added.

The amber globes turned to the holder of the green jewel.

"Thank you, Lauren ! Thank you so very much for your invaluable help !"

The Fic Sovereign gently smiled.

"No, Sam, thank YOU in the first place. We would never have achieved anything without the help of the MBC. We owe you a lot. You fought bravely by our soldiers' sides, and your weapons sure enough were of great efficiency in getting rid of all this alien scum. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart !"

And the 123rd inheritor of the Beaba throne bowed respectfully in front of the three humans, who in this very moment felt much honored of receiving such praise from a queen ! And especially a very wise and gentle one as Lauren !

"You really are a wonderful person, Lauren !" the blunette told her.

The addressee rewarded him with a bright smile.

"Your kind words, Chris, fill my heart with intense pleasure. And I return you the compliment. Actually, to be more precise, all of you humans are wonderful persons !"

Suddenly, they all heard the echo of footsteps behind them. They turned their faces towards the eastern entrance and stared at it intensely.

Sam's hand clenched on her blaster. Chris's mouth "stiffened". Danny's eyes narrowed. Lauren frowned. Ana gritted her teeth. Gianell huddled up.

A group emerged in the light of the storage room, and all those already present in there relaxed.

Phyros led the way up to his Queen and respectfully bowed in front of her, imitated by Ulliga and all other Beabas. The Light Leader pronounced thankful words for them all.

Emily watched them do so, and soon followed down. It wasn't her sovereign, but she had already heard of the famous wisdom and kindness of heart of the 123rd inheritor of the Light Throne. Lauren was indeed known on many planets as an example, and although several other "crowned heads" far away had _never_ met her, they _still_ bore great reverence to her, as a result of everything flattering they had heard about the true, just and sincere way Lauren ruled.

"It is an honor to have the chance to get to know such an admirable monarch as you, Your Majesty ! Your reputation has gone far beyond the borders of your own kingdom !" the Waterian gently uttered.

The red Beaba bowed herself in front of the green six-armed creature.

"I thank you for your kind words. And it is a pleasure to know you as well. My name is Lauren. May I please know yours ?"

"It is Emily, and I'm the Princess of the Water Planet. The Dark Lord had abducted me and was using me as a source of energy for their experiments. I heard something about secret weapons once."

Gianell seized the occasion to bring her own explanation on that point.

"Yes, Your Majesty. I didn't get the chance to explain you earlier, given the battles, but you have to know that Zythho had been taking back his father's evil plans and was therefore trying to invent weapons of darkness out of shadows. The latter actually are gathered in a huge container in the next room, and then purged from their Szônn."

But recalling that some in there didn't know about Szônn, the General explained on.

"Szônn is the elemental principle of shadows. Zythho was draining it from all the shadows he had been collecting and planned to use it to create dark weapons that could be used to fight and finally destroy the Light civilization, just like Hathho, his late father, tried to do before him. And now that Zythho is dead as well, we should free all those shadows from that container."

Lauren nodded, but then three of her eyes slid in direction of Sam, and the brunette caught that look and knew what it implied.

"I'm sorry, but we can't stay to help you." the MBC leader said. "We _**absolutely**_ have to bring our friend's shadow back to her body before the time runs out. And it soon will. Could you please take us back to the interdimensional passage through which we came on this planet."

The Chancellor spoke up in reaction to this.

"Of course. We can come back here later to free all those shadows. But it's obvious that given the time constraint you are bound with, we must urgently help you travel back to Earth. So now that we have put an end to Zythho's evil schemes, I take it we can get out of the base and hurry back to the place where your interdimensional passage is located."

Two of her eyes turned to Lauren, who once again nodded to express her consent.

"I will be at the head of the march, like before, to gauge dangers around and protect Your Majesty and Your Excellence, as well as MBC and now Emily" Gianell stated.

"We are following you, General !" the Beaba monarch exclaimed.

The huge group started for the door and was about to exit the storage room when...

"Hey, hasn't the floor been shaking a tad ?" asked Chris.

"Well, I think it just did !" Danny answered him.

"Now, what's on again ?" Sam asked, to no one in particular.

Then it came. A discrete rustle behind all of them, in the sound background.

They all turned to the source of that low noise… and couldn't believe what their eyes were presenting them !

Zythho's body was faintly glowing, the light alternatively augmenting and diminishing. But there was more : the shadows that had been lying on the floor minutes ago had all risen from their locations and were now floating slowly.

But the worst was the destination where these floating shadows headed to.

It was Zythho's body.

Beabas, MBC and the Waterian watched, astonished, as the shadows approached the body of the Dark Lord and, each in turn, sank inside of it, absorbed by that hateful organism.

Always more and more shadows entered Zythho's corpse, and soon even Cathy's shadow began to move in the direction of the magnetizing body.

"Watch out !" shouted Chris.

Ana took out her arms in direction of the shadow and recited a spell.

The Rhapsodian dark shape stopped and started to fly backwards, in direction of the Light fighters. But the strength of the magnetism induced by Zythho's body was really huge, and it took Ana much magical power to retain the shadow.

Still, it worked and soon all shadows had disappeared inside of the Dark Lord's organism, all but one : Cathy's.

It was quiet for a moment then.

All eyes were set on the corpse of the Dark Leader, which went on glowing brighter and dimmer in alternation.

But suddenly, the light variation ended and the body emitted a continuous gleam, which seemed to gradually intensify.

"What does that mean ?" asked Gianell.

"Keep alert ! Anything may happen !" advised Sam.

"Look !" Emily screamed.

Zythho was moving !

He slowly leaned on his hands and pushed himself up, then from sitting to standing position.

And once he was up, he opened his eyes and the light surrounding him vanished.

"So… what do you think of that ?" he asked, a smirk on his lips. "You didn't expect such a surprise, did you ?" His voice was so contemptuous. But surprise still took a hold of him when he noticed Emily's presence. "So you've managed to free the Water Princess, right ? Good, then I guess I'll be able to crush all of you simultaneously !"

"We won't let you, evil monster ! Never !" Emily yelled.

"How did you…?" started Ana, but she stopped, lost for words.

No one understood any of this.

"You may have destroyed the crystals that held my powers, but I can still gain energy from shadows !" their foe explained. "As long as there are some around, my organism can attract them to itself and absorb them. And once it has stored enough shadows, my body can make me come back to life. You'll need more than that to defeat me…"

He burst out laughing, an insane, cruel laughter.

"Whatever it takes to get rid of you, we will do it !" Sam shouted.

The disgusting eight-armed creature turned his head towards the one addressing him and smiled. A mischievous smile. But no, even more : a perverse smile !

"You, you just wait ! Wait till I'm done with all your friends here. And you'll see what I have in store for you ! You'll be having the worst time of your life ! I'll be relishing your screams as I abuse you time and time again, next to the corpses of your dear ones !"

The yellow member felt coldsweat in her back. But it didn't last long. She quickly got over it and let her courage take over once again.

"We'll be sweeping you away from the surface of that planet sooner than you think !" she howled with rage.

"Ah ah, we'll see that, really !" he sniggered back.

But before Sam could utter anything else, an angry voice filled the room.

"Just try to harm her, just try to touch her, and you'll be dead meat the next second !"

The brunette turned and stared at the blunette. **(A/N : yeah, I know… but I just couldn't help it… :D)** Had her favourite geek just… lashed out at Zythho ? Him, who usually was so collected, so calm ?

"Really ?" the Dark Lord asked in a mocking voice.

"Yeah, _**really**_, you swine ! Don't you dare to mess around with her ! I won't even let you come close to her !" the tech shouted.

Sam's eyes wrapped him in a tender embrace as he said this. She had felt how he cared for her, as he uttered this.

_Oh, Chris… my Love… Thank you for your sweetness ! Thanks for protecting me !_

"Ah no ?" the Shadow Master said. "Well, just try to stop me !" He screamed those last words and spread his arms above his head, yelling like crazy.

And suddenly he started swelling. He really was getting bigger, slowly but surely. His body was gaining more height by the minute, more height and more width.

It was like if someone was making an horrible close-up of Zythho !

The Dark Plotter was still laughing, but his laughter gradually became sepulchral, hollow, and gained a lower pitch. The huger Zythho became, the lower his voice was.

He soon was four or five times higher than them, and when he spoke, it seemed that thunder was rumbling from his throat.

"And so, now, what are you gonna _do_, dear foes ? How are you gonna stop me ? Let me see you work on that !"

They were all astonished as they stared at this enormous monster with eight massive arms, huge paws, great antennas and thumping elytrons. And for a moment, they all found themselves frozen, unable to move or say anything.

"Nothing ? Alright, then I'll go first ! And here is for you, Lauren ! Say hello to your gods for me !"

He took his arm forth and cast a deadly ray in direction of the red Beaba.

Lauren was caught by surprise, and she didn't react quickly enough.

There was an atrocious sound as the ray smashed the flesh. And the terrible noise of a body collapsing to the floor ensued.

Gianell let out a desperate shriek and let out something in Beaba language.

The next second she was running to the victim and kneeling by her side. Her features were twisted by an intense pain, and her heart had started racing within her chest.

Ana came closer and looked down.

"Oh my God ! She sacrificed herself to protect our Queen !" she whispered. "What a courageous move of hers ! I'm sorry for you, Gianell. But let me tell you this : you can be proud to have such a brave sister as her !"

"Thank you, Your Excellence !" the General replied in a dull, lifeless voice.

And she took Desmira's head against her torso and squeezed it tenderly, while she murmured very touching goodbye words, her eyes now wet.

"You will pay for that, monster !" Lauren said loud and clear. "I swear Desmira's death won't remain unpunished. I'll avenge her myself. And I will succeed in doing so, even if I must fight until my last breath."

"Ah ah !" Zythho laughed out. "Well, why don't you take this for yourself ?"

The Dark Lord reunited his two forefingers and a range of black rays exited from those. They rose up, up, up, and made a circular arc before falling rapidly in direction of the Queen.

The latter had to jump several times on her right to avoid the rays, which fell in a straight sequence to the floor, aiming at the Beaba leader.

Lauren retaliated with a Light wave which the huge creature deflected with a blow from his left arm. She tried another one, but it didn't yield any better result.

"Gotta try a tad harder, my Queen !" he sneered.

The green-jewel holder concentrated her energy and threw a mighty sphere of light at him. But he had anticipated the attack and, as he was getting ready to deflect this one as well, an idea struck him.

He hit the ball in order to have it aim straight for...

"CHRIIIIS !"

Sam's throat let out a horrified shout when she saw her secret love get blown away by the Light sphere Zythho had hit back.

The blue member fell heavily to the back, a scream of pain escaping from his mouth. He then lay motionless by the wall he just been swung at.

The African-American ran to him and kneeled breathlessly. Chris was clearly wincing, but although that was a bad thing, it still was better than if he had been unconscious, knocked out by the force of the blow.

"Chris, can you hear me ? It's me, Sam. How are you feeling ?"

He just gritted his teeth for a moment, and it seemed to take forever before he managed to reply.

"Pain... in the... chest... but... I'll... I'll be... alright... Be careful... Sam... Take care... of you..."

Sam felt her heart ache inside her chest. She dreaded it would get more serious for him, and that perhaps... perhaps...

_NO ! STOP THINKING ABOUT THAT, SAM ! BE POSITIVE ! HE WILL BE OKAY ! YOU KNOW IT ! SO STOP ENVISAGING THE WORST AND CONSIDER THE BEST POSSIBLE ! DON'T LET DOUBTS OVERCAST YOUR SOUL !_

That's what the MBC leader told herself, and how she did scold herself for giving in to doubt for a short while. But now, it was all behind, and hope was governing her body again.

"Chris, I will make him pay ! But please hang on, my Love ! Hang on and resist ! We'll find a way to heal you !"

The blue orbs appeared as he opened his eyes, slightly first then a tad wider, as much as pain let him do so.

"Did you... just say... my Love ?"

She felt a hot wave rise to her face after wrapping her whole body.

"Yeah... I did... But there's no time to talk about this right now. I swear I will explain myself later on, but for now, please rest and make sure to... to stay alive !"

He weakly smiled.

"I'll stay alive... for you, Sam !" He smiled a tad wider. "Be careful... my Love !" He managed a quick wink, before the pain made him shut his eyes. But then came another reaction from him : he grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly. She looked at their hands and squeezed back, a smile on her lips as she turned her gaze back to him.

But the look she gave Zythho once she was up again was completely different, and opposite feeling-wise. There had been love for Chris, now there was hate for the one plotting in the background.

"Ah ah ah !" the Shadow Master laughed as he returned her look. "Look what has become of the one who claimed he would protect you ! The devoted admirer is less strong than he thought !" And his laughter went on.

But the more he laughed, the more the black face frowned, the more the golden orbs glared at him, the more anger rang the bell within the female human chest.

"You've been mocking way too much, you scum !" she yelled, and the next minute, she evolved her blaster into the Blue Shift one and started shooting at the ironic alien.

Her deed had been carried out so promptly that he didn't have time to react as quickly, and therefore wasn't in position to dodge the attack. But when she aimed at him and fired, he just had the right amount of time to tell himself he could deflect or absorb the shock.

Yet, he couldn't.

The powerful blue circles struck him full shot and the enormous foe let out a terribly loud shout.

Sam felt a surge of hope and of joy rise inside of her when she noticed his reaction.

_He's sensitive to that ray ! It's the one to use against him ! Lucky I got the correct weapon for him on my first attempt !_

"Quick, Danny ! This one works great ! Select it and help me blast that swine !"

"Right there, Sammy !" the Jock exclaimed, a tangible excitement haunting his voice.

The red MBC focused his ray on Zythho, who was now writhing in pain and tried to cast his enemies deadly energy shots that they managed to avoid, although with difficulty.

Lauren turned to Ana and Gianell, who were on her right and watched the fight. She addressed them in Beaba language. **(A/N : once again graciously translated for you guys :)**

"Come on, we must help them ! They managed to hurt Zythho, but I know it won't be enough. We **must** add our own magic in there, to make sure we can defeat him ! Let's use the jewels' powers ! Get ready, and when I shout, let the gems' energy out !"

The three of them positioned themselves close to Sam and Danny and each put both her hands on either side of their respective jewels.

Lauren let out her battle cry.

Then, at the very same time, they released the might contained in the gems.

From the green jewel on Lauren's forehead, a green ray shot out and aimed at Zythho. The same happened with Ana and Gianell : a blue ray emerged from the Chancellor's gem and a red one from the General's own jewel.

The Dark Puppeteer received the forces of three simultaneous blows, in addition to the two wave rays of the humans' blasters. He tried to ward off, but to no avail.

Suddenly, a third Blue Shift ray struck the great body of the Dark Lord.

Sam's and Danny's heads turned briskly to the right, only to find their blue fellow in the same fight position as themselves, right arm stretched towards the massive target, his evolved blaster clasped firmly in his hand.

"CHRIS ! Are you okay ?" the yellow member cried.

"I am indeed !" the blue one replied. He quickly gave her a look, diverting his attention away from the monster for a short while. "It was painful for a few minutes, but I got over it. I'm not as weak as Danny says I am..."

The red teammate couldn't help casting him a brief amused look.

"Alright, so let's say you maybe are gaining a bit of strength... about time, eh ?"

Chris smiled.

"Anyway, I'm alright, thank you for asking... my Love !" He whispered the last words, only for her to hear, despite the loud noise induced by the rays of the three blasters and those of the three alien jewels.

Sam felt her heart fill with pleasure at this, and she gave him a grateful and tender look, a smile stretching the corners of her mouth. A wink concluded the sweet moment. Then she turned her head back to their common foe.

Emily had understood that they all should try to put the maximal energy in balance in order to defeat the evil creature, therefore did she made a step forward and stretched all of her six arms, each one in a different direction. It looked like sunrays, except that the "sun" here was green, not yellow.

From each tip of tentacle, a water whirlpool emerged and grew bigger and bigger. And once it had become great enough, she pointed all six arms to the target and launched her own attack.

The whirlpools powerfully shocked the Dark Lord, who let out another scream of pain.

Additionally, all soldiers threw their spears at the huge body, hoping to harm it.

All Beabas, all MBC members and the Waterian had now been attacking together. The fight between Light and Darkness was at its acme now.

Zythho was now making a little noise, as he was tensing up to launch a powerful assault.

And the next minute, he screamed louder than he ever had, opening his arms wide.

A tremendous kind of black tsunami overwhelmed the Light Unity **(A/N : this will from now on designate the group formed by Beabas, MBC and Emily, as a manner to call them by a single name gathering all of them)**. Each of the fighters crashed to the ground or against a wall, with a pain wail.

Hathho's son was getting his second wind, catching a messy, irregular breath. Those Beabas and humans, together with the Water Princess, were really giving him a hard time. A tougher one than he had thought. Had he underestimated them ? Still, that would be fixed soon.

He put both hands together in front of him for the final attack... the most devastating one he was capable of !

/

The laboratory had been devastated during the struggle which had taken place between the members of the third Light squad and the dark scientists. Many instruments had fallen to the floor, a lot of sheets had been scattered throughout the room and several fragile items had been shattered to pieces.

Among these fragile items, there were notably some test tubes and some retorts holding various types of liquids. Those had spilled here and there, becoming useless while they once had been a precious source of information for the scientific minds gathered in that secret room.

One of the retorts had been thrown by a scientist towards one of the intruders, but the object had missed its target and landed on a high stone ledge, where it had broken up and gave way to a red liquid which had been dripping down onto the edge of the receptacle holding the precious Szônn, drained out of the shadows in the Container Room and brought here for experiments.

And thus, gradually, the liquid had been collected from the heights down to the edge of the Szônn mass. And as the quantity of it augmented, the tiny red puddle grew larger and larger, larger and larger, until...

Until it eventually started to drip down into the Szônn.

One drop was enough.

As soon as it met with the dark matter constituting shadows, it started a very impressive reaction : the whole pond of black liquid suddenly ignited – or so it seemed at least – and the chain reaction extended to the Szônn that came out from the pipe in the wall. And from there from the Szônn that was flowing through the pipe. And it therefore went up the reverse way, back to the origin...

/

Above Zythho's head were now three black triangles whose top ends were bearing what looked liked an electric sputtering. These triangles were arranged in triangular position in the air.

The Dark Master now had both arms stretched horizontally on each of his sides. His face was haunted by a sinister grimace.

"Alright, now has come the time to get rid of you all. I've had enough fun fighting with you, but each good moment has to come to an end at some point. And once I've killed all but you _(he glanced at Sam)_, it will time for a bit of fun… in another way…"

His lecherous stare lingered on the black female. The latter gave him her hardest look and fired at him.

This time, the ray produced no effect on the Shadow Leader. It was as if she had been shooting at some shield, although nothing looking like a barrier was visible for the moment.

Chris and Danny soon joined in, but it didn't change a bit.

Lauren, Ana and Gianell concentrated their powers and cast the jewel rays at Zythho once again.

This time, the antagonist was shaken by the assault, as his wince clearly showed, but he held firm and brought his arms in parallel position above his head.

"Here it is ! My power is maximal now ! Time to say goodbye, losers !" he clarioned.

/

The chain reaction ignited the last part of the pipe and finally reached the part where Szônn was flowing from the huge container straight into the pipe. There was an explosion as the chemical change extended straight into the container via the connecting duct.

After a few minutes, the enormous glass cylinder started to tremble violently and the shadows inside were drown in an ocean of red. The temperature in there was rising rapidly, very rapidly.

A siren went off while a see-through sphere began to flash on and off.

But there was no one left in the base to hear the acoustic signal or see the flashing light. Corpses were everywhere, and Zythho was the only being still alive inside his own lair.

Well, _one_ of the only _two_ beings, to be more precise…

The temperature soon reached its critical level and went on rising past it, on and on. The giant container was now shaking uncontrollably, and inside could only be seen... red. Red everywhere. No longer shadows.

And then it finally occurred…

/

Zythho took one last look at the bunch of fighters trying to defeat him. He felt weakened now and had just enough force left to launch that one definitive assault. The fatal one. He just had to make sure he wouldn't kill the dark-skinned human.

Lauren, Ana and Gianell were still attacking him, but they had been joined by Emily, who had chosen another kind of power against the Shadow Master.

Zythho let out a wild shout of rage and started to split his arms to release the attack.

That's when a terrible explosion was heard in the next room. A massive one. The kind that would have been caused by an enormous machine or container.

Zythho suspended his movement.

A machine or a… container ?

_Could it be…_ he started wondering. But he couldn't think on.

Indeed, as soon as Lauren noticed that the evil leader's attention had been drawn to something else, probably that loud burst in the neighbouring premise, she knew that there was a slight chance for them.

_(Lauren) Ana ! Gianell ! He's been distracted ! We only have a few seconds before he turns his attention back at us ! We have to use the Müü ! It's now or never !_

_(Ana / Gianell) Yes, Your Majesty ! We are ready !_

The Light Monarch swiftly concentrated all of her energy in her jewel, and so did the Chancellor and General.

_(Lauren) NOW !_

From the gems of the three Beabas were cast ultra-powerful bolts of energy which hurried towards their target.

Zythho turned his head back to his enemies, but it was already too late for him to do anything…

The mighty beams reached him all at the very same time and pierced his body. But it didn't stop at that : the size of the rays increased and always more of the dark body got hit.

A deafening yell was now filling the room. They all winced from the intensity of it, but none of them did let up any second.

The black triangles vanished into thin air.

Lauren, Ana and Gianell were maintaining their efforts. Whatever it would take, they would agree to do. They needed to get rid of that devilish creature by _any_ mean. No matter the "cost" of it !

"Aaaaargh ! I'm not gonna lose ! Ggggggh… You will see…" shouted Hathho's son.

He made a movement with both arms and…

… and the next moment, his organism exploded in a powerful bang !

Dozens and dozens of shadows were thrown around across the room. All those shadows the dark body had been absorbing a while ago, and that had helped reviving him.

The storage room soon was filled with floating black shapes slowly landing to the floor of that cursed room. They laid back there, in the position they had been moments earlier.

The three Beabas fell to their knees, panting like crazy. So did Emily.

They had made it ! They had destroyed Zythho ! And this time, it was for good, since all trace of him had vanished. Even his dark aura couldn't be sensed by Lauren anymore.

Their victory was complete, at last !

**/**

**Waow, I was able to craft that one rather quickly ! :D**

**Not that I'm working less but I've been writing really during every short break I had and even late at night. (Guys, ya should just take a look at my eyes… XD)**

**And what a HUGE chappy that is ! I mean, come on : over 6'000 words ! But this time, I chose not to split the chapter in two : I wanted the crucial chapter to be a long and intense one, without any break. And splitting it in two would have induced a break, somehow. So I preferred not and decided to leave it all in one. An enormous, catchy chappy, eh eh !**

**So, do ya think that Zythho is KO for good, or is there still one surprise left with him ? I know I wrote he was dead, but is it the truth ? *looks at ya all mysteriously***

**And what about this : "Zythho was the only being still alive inside his own lair. Well, _one_ of the only _two_ beings, to be more precise…" So, who do you think the other being is ?**

**Eh eh, not done with surprises yet ! But ya start to know me, don't ya ? ;P**

**Once again many thanxxxx to my wonderful reviewers ! I wouldn't be where I am without your wholehearted support ! Blessings over your heads !**

**Right, I'm gonna start next chappie, eh ! **

**Till next time ! **

**Take care, Folks ! **

**And never forget to SMILE !**

**Peace, Love, Ecstasy !**

"**Swissy"**


	23. Countdown

**Hey Audience !**

**Gee, how much time it took me to complete that chappy ! Blame it on the tremendous workload resulting from European hubs disturbances all summer long. Hufff, I do feel exhausted !**

**Now…**

**One more chapter in store ! I'm beginning to get sad about it since we're nearing the end. There should be 3 more chappies, and the now usual POSTWORD (which is the ending counterpart of the FOREWORD for the beginning). So 4 more to prepare.**

**Now more than 83'000 words for this story, and according to my calculation, I should end it around 95'000, if things go as I plan them to. Which leaves me way ahead everybody else, in terms of quantity. Hopefully it will be as positive as regards quality, but given your feedbacks, I tend to think that YES.**

**So, now, do you think Zythho is dead ? And who is that mysterious being still alive in the base ? And how will they make it back to the interdimensional passage ?**

**All these questions will find their answers in this chapter.**

**Ready for another ride on the rollercoaster of fiction ?**

**Fasten your belts, here we go for the _grand finale_ !**

**N'joy !**

**/ **

**22 _ COUNTDOWN**

**/**

"Is he dead ?" Emily asked in an almost shy voice.

Lauren directed three of her eyes towards her.

"Well, I can't sense his energy anymore. I mean his _physical_ energy. I'm giving that precision because earlier, when he supposedly was dead, I could still feel his physical energy but not _vital_ energy. That meant that he was still present, as a corpse, but life had apparently deserted his body."

Danny gave her a look stating that he was very confused.

"Physical energy ? Vital energy ? Well, maybe Sam or Chris get any of this, but perso, I don't. May I ask for explanations ?"

Lauren smiled.

"Of course you can, Danny. Well, vital energy has to do with life in an organism, while physical energy deals with the presence of that organism. An organism functioning normally has both, a dead organism only has physical one while it hasn't completely rotten and there's none of these two energies when the organism has fully disappeared. And regarding the present matter, I can't feel any of these energies for Zythho."

The jock made a funny scowl.

"Hum, that's kind of complicated to me…"

"You know, Danny, it's secondary for you anyway, right ? So just let it go ! Leave it to the brainy's !"

She concluded this with a wink, her mouth arched in a wide grin.

Eyebrows got frowning above the emerald orbs.

"Really, Sam…"

She laughed up her sleeve.

And then, once more, there was a some kind of discrete rumble throughout the room **(A/N : lots of rumbling/ ground shaking in this story, don't ya think ? XD)**

"What's that again ?" Ana asked. "It can't be Zythho once more, can it ? He's supposed to be dead !"

Chris looked up and saw the first rubble falling from the ceiling, mixed with black dust.

"Look ! It's… it's starting to collapse !" he shouted.

They all glanced up and their eyes widened in horror as they saw tiny bits of black matter "raining" to the floor, dust now "waterfalling" from several places in the ceiling.

"We have to get out of here **NOW** !" screamed Sam.

"I'll lead the way out ! Please all be alert, even if all guards seem to have been defeated !" instructed Gianell. "I'll ask my men to carry Desmira's body with us, back to Fic !"

It took only a bunch of seconds for this to be done, and they were about to start when…

"Wait !" exclaimed Lauren. "There is one more body we have to take with us. General, will you please ask our soldiers to also lift up Mytylys's corpse ? I want him back to Fic with us !"

The strategist of the Light Army nodded and gave supplementary orders to her troop.

Finally, everything seemed to be ready. They could at last take their leave from that horrible place.

The rumble had turned to a seism by then, and bigger ceiling bits were crashing all around the hurrying fighters. Dust was now falling everywhere inside the rooms. It looked like there really was so little time left to escape that soon ruined place.

The Light Unity **(A/N : remember what this refers to ? Told ya in last chapter…)** was now almost running, except that they couldn't really do so, given that they were carrying two corpses.

They crossed rapidly the storage room and saw dozens and dozens of dark shapes lying everywhere on the floor, which was bathed with a red liquid. Nobody knew where the latter came from, but they guessed it may have been at the origin of the explosion of the container.

"Wait a minute !" exclaimed the Queen.

She came to a halt and raised her arms together in direction of the container. Her eyes started to shine intensely, always more and more. She lifted her arms as high as she could.

A movement on the floor.

Then another one.

And another one.

Finally, many movements throughout the place.

The MBC could see, amazed, all the shadows rising into the air and floating in Lauren's direction.

But that wasn't the end of it.

From the entrance to the storage room, several other dark shapes came floating down to the Light Sovereign.

It seemed obvious that the red Beaba was attracting to her all the shadows around the place.

_She wants to take them with her and send them back to their owners once back in Fic !_ thought Sam.

Once all shadows had gathered in a dark mass in front of the Beaba Leader, the latter turned back at the rest of the Light Unity.

"Now back to our escape !" she announced loud and clear.

The whole group moved off and soon was rushing up the stairs that led to the Container Room. They continued quickly and soon arrived at the fork. The right road led to the place where a heap of corpses was slowly but surely turning completely black, due to their lack of shadows.

And as all continued straightforward in direction of the main entrance, they couldn't see that the half-black bodies had just appeared from the corner of that right path and were now following the Light Unity, at the back of the shadows group.

Lauren was taking out of the base all the victims of Zythho and their shadows, willing to latter reunite both and send the shadows remaining back to their distant owners... hoping that these would still be alive at the time being !

The hurrying went on and on and the large group finally arrived at the huge entryway through which the first squad had got in initially.

That's when their adventure in the base had started for good. That's when they all had been entering the demon's lair.

That's when they had willingly walked into a really Machiavellian plan !

But this time, the difference was that there weren't any guards to cast them suspicious glances. The ones once standing on both sides of that gate had actually been summoned by Silon in the Draining Room, which was the place where Lauren had been lying unconscious while a dark device was draining away all of her energy. They had been of the number of those who had fought Beabas and MBC, along with Silon.

And now, the path was free, so all walked through the entryway and found themselves in the main entrance room. They continued towards the spiral staircase leading to the upper level, where they had sneaked in from.

That's when it hit Sam.

Actually, it hit her just as they were getting under the great arch of the entryway, right before stepping into the main entrance room.

There was something important to remember about that room. Something _vital_.

A _**danger**_ !

And suddenly, she knew.

She knew and looked up at once.

Just in time to see the gigantic creature swoop down on them.

"WATCH OUT !" the yellow member screamed on top of her lungs.

The brown scaled monster which had been hanging upside down from the top of the premise had heard them, seen them and now attacked them.

It fell down upon the head of the Light Unity, knocking everyone down as its huge wings battered fiercely around. The fighters didn't have enough time to react.

And then it became worse.

The monstrous beak opened wide and the four black tongues hiding in its depths emerged all together... and wound tightly around Lauren's neck !

Ana and Gianell let out a terrible shout simultaneously.

But it was once again Sam to react the quickest. She grabbed her blaster, evolved it into the Blue Shift Blaster and fired at the tremendous winged alien.

The latter howled and made a circular movement.

The black girl took a glimpse left, only to see with horror the massive tail brushing the ground rapidly in her direction.

She huddled up, getting ready for the right moment, then jumped as high as she could.

She had made it ! She had avoided the great tail ! But she had to remain alert and focused, for the fight was far from over !

Danny and Chris had also got their Blue Shifts Blasters and started sending their rays. But this didn't seem to bother the creature.

The atrocious monster screeched terribly loud, making them wince, and began to fling its tail across the room, trying to reach one of its assailants.

Ana and Gianell had been concentrating, and now they released their mighty beams. A blue and a red one, which hit the enormous foe at the same time.

While it had showed no apparent pain from the Blue Shift rays, the brown enemy was now clearly howling in a manner which left no doubt : the Beaba assault had clearly hurt it. And given that fact, the hideous creature now aimed at the two Light aliens when it used its tail to launch a new attack. But the Chancellor and the General were prompt enough to avert any of the monster's blows.

But as for the MBC rays, it clearly didn't affect the guardian of the entrance. Therefore did Chris make the only reasonable proposal.

"It's not bearing any effect. What about the Double X ?"

"I guess we have no choice but try that option, hoping that it will work, this time !" the leader answered.

So the three humans chose the next weapon available and started their blasters once more.

And this time, the huge being let out a frightening shriek. _It was efficient_ !

"We have it, Team !" Sam shouted. "Come on, let's bust it !"

"Right on it !" Danny replied.

"We will get it !" Chris concluded.

Meanwhile had Emily launched her own assault. She had cast huge shiny waves of pure alien water against the now writhing body of the beast, and that too was coming into effect. Proof was the deep wounds it inflicted to the scaled one.

Even the Beaba soldiers were doing their best to hurt the gigantic demon, but their spears, which could kill easily, were of no use against the present obstacle.

The guardian had realized that there were adversaries all around itself and that it had therefore to fight against many enemies scattered around its huge body. And given that the monster was slow compared to the Light Unity, it had to use its tail to attack all around. But the tiny foes mugging it were much faster and could avoid the huge tail without too much difficulty.

All this time, Lauren had been struggling to free herself from the deadly grasp of the winged one. She had her hands clasped on the black tongues that were tightening around her neck. She could still breathe, but this action was getting always more and more difficult for her. She could see that all her friends and soldiers were doing all they could to defeat the monster and get her safe, so she decided she should try something on her side. She started to focus.

At the same time, Danny's arm suddenly gave out and the shot of his weapon sank… and crossed Chris's shot, close to the brown skin.

This caused brown smoke to rise from the beast's body, and a deafening howl filled the room.

The jock took his arm back up, but his female teammate gave a negative reaction.

"No, Danny ! Keep your ray crossed with Chris's. You saw how it hurt the alien. It seems that it augments the damage inflicted. Wait, I will cross my own ray with yours !"

The red member lowered his blaster and made his Double X entwine with the blue member's, and the yellow member's soon joined in. All three rays were now crossing just beside the scaled skin.

The effect was immediate : a thick smoke started, massive black cloud which quickly rose up to the ceiling.

Ana suddenly got an idea and moved her head to the left, in order to make her blue beam meet Gianell's red beam.

And this yielded the same encouraging result as had been the case for the Double X rays : a huge cloud of smoke formed and reached the heights of the room.

The premises were still shaking and bits of the ceiling were continuously falling, as was thin dust. The mess hadn't stopped, but the Light Unity was more preoccupied by saving the Queen than leaving the place. They were ready to risk their lives to rescue the Beaba Monarch.

Lauren gathered all of her strength and tightened her grip on the black tongues. Her energy was now concentrated inside her hands. She closed her eyes... and reopened them wide !

Light was now shining intensely from her six globes, and her mouth opened to let out a powerful scream !

At the same time, she released the tremendous mass of energy contained in her hands.

That energy cumulated with the one of the three Double X, the red and blue beams of Ana and Gianell and finally with the violent waves cast by Emily.

And finally it happened : the intensity of the attacks exceeded the protective power of the creature and...

... the enormous body exploded, sending alien flesh everywhere around the room !

The shock caused by this explosion made the overall earthquake augment, and bigger black parts now fell from the ceiling.

The Chancellor and the General ran to the Queen, who was on her knees, breathing fast.

"Your Majesty, how are you feeling ? Do you need some of my energy ?" asked an almost panicked Ana (it was the first time the MBC members saw her lose her self-control).

The red Beaba looked up and smiled gently.

"No, don't worry, I will be fine. Thank you for your generosity, Ana ! But I can handle this."

And she put her forefinger and middle finger in the center of her forehead and focused once again. **(A/N : much focusing as well, in this fiction, no ? =P)**

Her whole silhouette emitted a glow which flashed on and off for at least one minute. Then she took her fingers down and smiled wider.

"There it is ! My energy level is back at its maximum. Now, let's hurry out of this place !"

The whole group started on the gentle slope winding up to the upper level.

They quickly reached the superior landing and rushed to the room at the end on the right, the one they had arrived in initially.

Beabas, MBC and Waterian hurried inside the rocky back alley while a terrible crash was heard in the entrance room. Everything was collapsing, bit by bit, and soon nothing would be left from the Dark Base...

As they were going up rapidly, they could hear a loud noise filling the passage.

Emily turned around, only to see that it was collapsing as well in there.

"It's caving in too !" she shouted. "We must go faster or we'll be trapped in here !"

The Light Unity quickened the pace while the back alley was breaking down mercilessly.

They emerged in fresh air just in time : the passage finished collapsing right behind the last body of the half-black bodies following the group of shadows !

"Gee ! A close one !" Danny said.

"You can say that, yes !" Chris approved.

"The whole base is destroyed now !" Gianell remarked.

"The reign of the Dark Lord is over !" Ana added.

Just then, a deafening noise rose from the depths of the plain.

All of the fighters turned around to see a formidable blast take place in the distance. The soil of the planet seemed to regurgitate its dark bowels. As if it had become something rotten, something moldy, which should be gotten rid of. The remains of the base therefore all landed on the plain. And only a minute later did all these transform into a thick black smoke which floated up to the sky.

"Our victory is complete now !" Sam observed. "All that remains to be done is clear the surface of the planet of the Howlers and Poisoners."

"No, it's not complete yet..." Lauren indicated.

"What remains to be done then ?" Chris asked.

"Maybe most of it is okay now on this planet, save for the creatures Sam mentioned, which still need to be destroyed. But there remains one thing to do, which is not linked to our planet but to Earth..."

And of course the MBC leader guessed it.

"Save Cathy ! We must bring her shadow back to her body before it's too late !"

And as she spoke these words, she lifted her arm and took a glance at the tiny hourglass hovering over her wrist.

There wasn't much silver dust left in it... it was soon going to be completely through...

"We have to quickly make it back to Fic, then from there to the place where you arrived on the Dark Planet !" Lauren observed.

"Yes, quick !" the jock said in a hasty tone before adding : "By the way, since Zythho is dead, I suggest you now call it the Light Planet, not the Dark Planet !"

"Right you are, young human !" the Fic Monarch said.

And just in this moment, as if to agree with this, the black clouds which had been maintaining the planet in a dark atmosphere started to clear off, slowly, then a bit faster, then much faster, and only a bunch of seconds later did the light of the sun shine again on them all.

/

It seemed as if all the evil creatures creeping here and there in the plains and on the hills had felt that their leader was gone, and had decided to avenge his death.

All Howlers and Poisoners were now heading straight for the Light Unity to mug them, and all could notice that they were now way more aggressive than they used to be earlier.

"These aliens seem to have understood that we beat their master and that their days on this planet are now counted" Gianell suggested.

"Well, yes, it's what it looks like... as incredible as it may seem that they actually sensed that Zythho had disappeared !" Chris pointed out.

But the Beaba soldiers united their forces to kill all of these nefarious beings, and Emily helped them, as did Gianell and the three humans. It was clear enough that, after all that they had been through in the Dark Base, fighting these basic enemies was kind of an easy task for our heroes.

They were progressing rapidly, leaving corpses by dozens behind them. All that needed slaughter would be as much spared for the Light soldiers later on, when they would purge the surface of their soil from the naughty monsters roaming on it.

Soon the white towers of Fic could be seen on the line of the horizon. This rekindled their hope and brought solace to their souls.

"At last !" Gianell couldn't help saying.

"It has been a long time since I last had the pleasure to see those towers…" Lauren added. And in her voice, a tiny emotional note could be felt.

The large group soon arrived by the city. The Queen gave orders in Beaba language and the soldiers carrying the bodies of Desmira and Mytylys headed for the white houses.

Then the Monarch hold out her arm, pointing her forefinger in direction of the marching soldiers, and the group of shadows and half-dark bodies started to follow these, except for Cathy's shadow, which remained with the Light Unity.

"And now, let's go on ! We have to find the place where you arrived on this planet, and have you take that interdimensional passage back to your planet !" Lauren announced.

"And what about Desmira, Mytylys, the shadows and the black bodies ?" Chris wondered.

The left eyes of the Sovereign slid to the side, aiming at the tech.

"We will take care of that later. For the moment, your own problem is far more urgent. There isn't much time left. Where do we have to go ? In which direction shall we walk ?"

Sam turned to the General.

"Gianell, you were the one to find us that day, with your squad. Do you think you can manage to find the way back there ?"

The athletic Beaba smiled in a satisfied manner.

"Of course, Sam ! I know exactly where to go. But after that, you will have to tell us where to head, for only you know the direction."

"We should be able to remember that once we are on the spot. Let's go !" the yellow member instructed.

Ana turned to Emily.

"Do you want to go and rest in Fic ? You are our guest !"

But the Waterian shook her head.

"No, thank you ! That's very kind of you, but I prefer to stay with you and help you fight the monsters you may encounter on your way. I'm indebted to you for saving my life !"

"Alright ! Thank you, Emily ! Your help will be precious to us !"

Then the whole group remaining moved and started to journey towards the vast plain of the now Light Planet.

They had to fight many other Howlers and Poisoners on the way. It was everything but a calm march. All monsters roaming around seemed to sense their presence and immediately rushed to them. That definitely looked like an unwelcome consequence of Zyttho's death : it was as if these creatures has sensed that their leader had been taken down and wanted to punish the ones responsible of it, which they knew were those two-legged creatures walking in group.

The march lasted, lasted, lasted… until they finally reached the very place where humans and Beabas had met for the first time. The place where a strong friendship stemmed.

"That's the plain where we found you initially" Gianell told the MBC.

The three humans looked attentively at the land spreading out before their eyes. It indeed seemed familiar. They could see the dolmens in the distance.

"Over there !" ordered Sam.

All motioned to the said location. And once they were on the spot…

"Hum, where did we come from again ?" Danny asked.

In front of him was another dale, and another hill after. But on the left there also was another hill, and perhaps that behind it was another dale…

"I would say… this direction ?" Chris proposed as he pointed to the right.

The landscape stretching before him looked like a succession of the same kind of elements. It was difficult to find some landmarks.

Sam squinted her eyes.

"Hum, sorry, but I rather think we came from that direction !" she retorted.

Her hand was showing the left.

"Are you sure ?" the jock asked, in an uncertain tone.

"No, I'm not sure, but that's what it seems to me !" was her reply.

"Same here !" the blunette added.

The three of them looked around, carefully, intensely, trying to find out the origin of their mad escape, hours and hours earlier. But the landscape somehow seemed different by day than what it had looked like by night. The light made some important change... and got them lost, trying to recognize the surroundings.

Their hearts had started pounding inside their chests. What if they couldn't remember the way back to the interdimensional passage ?

A voice interrupted their thoughts.

"You have forgotten where you had arrived from ?"

They all turned around to face the Chancellor, who was looking at them with four worried eyes.

"We... we can't seem to be able to determine the direction we came from..." Sam replied, anguish slightly showing in her tone.

"Maybe you should take another look around or try to walk down inside that dale : perhaps that will unlock your memories..." suggested the Queen.

"Okay, we'll try to concentrate and look more carefully at the landscape." the brunette conceded.

The MBC turned back and observed the surroundings... and observed... and observed...

"Guys ?" the dark-skinned girl inquired.

They shook their heads.

Sam bit her lip.

_No... not now... not when we have accomplished the hardest part... how unfair !_

Sam turned back to the Beabas and Waterian, and was about to confess their impotence...

... when the holy bulb in Chris's head lit up and shone brightly !

"Wait ! There is one being who can help us ! The only other one who knows about the passage !"

The amber eyes opened wide.

"You mean... Katie ?"

"Exactly !"

"But _how_ will she help ?" Danny questioned.

The tech smiled.

"I'm sure she can cross the dimensions and end up on this planet. Then we'll have to guide her here."

The spiked-haired one still needed to be convinced.

"And how do we do that ?"

The tech wasn't about to give in so easily.

"Well, either she can sense our energies and locate us or... we can use our blasters ! By shooting in the sky, which will make it rather straightforward for anyone to see where we are !"

The jock made a dubious wince.

"Hum... are you sure that kinda twisted plan will work ?"

"Look, if you have a better suggestion, I'm pricking up my ears !"

Danny was quiet for a moment, stirring his inner sea... but no actual better idea showed up !

"In fact, no."

"Then we'll follow Chris's plan !" Sam decided for them all.

"I hope this will succeed..." Emily whispered.

"We all do !" Ana said.

Sam opened her V-Com and pressed a button. But there was only static on her screen. She tried again, but still to no avail. It apparently meant that communication between the Light Planet and Earth wasn't possible.

"God, it doesn't get through !" she stated. "Do you think you can find some way to improve the communication ?"

Chris pushed buttons on his own V-Com and checked what came out of it. But alas, it didn't yield the hoped result.

"If only we had a sort of catalyst... a wave catalyst... maybe we would have a chance..." he explained.

There was a moment of silence, during which Chris's and Sam's brains functioned at full blast **(A/N : blast... blaster... MBC... hum, me and puns, yeah...)** to try and corner some solution, which constantly seemed to escape.

But right then, Lauren walked up to Sam and put her hand on the side of the V-Com.

"Try it again !" she said. And she started to focus her powers.

"Very well, Your Majesty !"

Sam pushed the button once more, hope rising like a tidal wave inside her heart...

/

"They're closer now. I can feel their energies. They aren't too remote from the interdimensional passage." Katie uttered with some tangible excitement.

"Really ?" Mr Smith asked. "Are they really very close ?"

"Yes, very !"

"Oh my God, I hope they can be here on time..."

And as he pronounced these words, the old Rhapsodian cast a sad look at his granddaughter. Only part of her hair was still colored. The rest was a black mass lying on the bed.

The sound of the communicator scared them off. They didn't expect this. Both turned towards Cathy's V-Com, on the table. But who could be calling ? Sam, Chris or Danny ? But they knew pretty well that Cathy was unconscious, so why... ?

Hugo Smith took the device and pushed the flashing key.

Sam's face appeared on the screen.

"Mr Smith, we have Cathy's shadow, but we need help to find the way back home. We are lost and don't remember where we originally came from. So we can't make it back to the interdimensional passage. We need Katie's help to show us the way back there. Do you think she could possibly cross through and come to our location, to assist us back to the passage ?"

The Minnie inhabitant had heard all of it, and she leaned by Mr Smith in order to be seen from Sam.

"Yes, I can do that. It's not a problem. Hugo will stay here to watch over Cathy, and I will help you to come back to the passage. I'll do as quickly as I can, as we need to rush here : it's almost time ! There are only a few minutes left, I'm afraid !"

Sam nodded and sketched a smile.

"Thank you, Katie ! We're waiting for you. Oh, and is there any way you can locate us ? Or do you want us to do something for you to find us ?"

"I can feel your energies, and thanks to these, determine the place where you currently are."

"Alright. See you in a moment !" the brainy girl concluded.

Then the communication ended.

"I'm going to find them and bring them back here, don't worry !" she said reassuringly. "Please just watch for Cathy. And don't lose hope : we _**will**_ win !"

And with that said, she entered the interdimensional passage hovering behind them…

/

**Priest : Cliffhanger, do you accept to marry Leo and love him until death do you apart ?**

**Cliffhanger : Yes, I do.**

**Priest : Leo, do you accept to marry Cliffhanger and love it until death do you apart ?**

**Leo : Yes, I do.**

**Priest : So I hereby declare you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride, Leo.**

**Leo : Yuck, hell no ! His breath stinks ! But maybe we still may have children…**

**Okay, I'm in love with cliffhangers, I admit it. So one more for ya, Folks ! And since ya too have a crush on cliffies… but hands off, eh, Dude ! Cliffy is MINE ! =)**

**Right, what did ya think of this new one here ? Does it sound good ? **

**Eh eh, I couldn't help delaying once again the return of MBC to Earth, in order to stretch suspense as "long" as I can. As long as Cathy's arms, maybe ! XD**

**You may, possibly, know if they make it in the next chapter. You _may_…**

**Hey, Folks, I'll be leaving for a 1-week holiday on Sunday (August 19th), so you won't hear from me until at best first September week. Possibly the second one.**

**But no worries, I intend to finish SL this coming month… alas, should I say, coz I really loved writing this story ! Snif snif !**

**I wish you all the best and give you appointment in September for the sequel of the story and in late August for my replies to your last PM's.**

**Take care ! And Big Up to all M83 and Bloc Party fans outta here ! (…if there are any…)**

**Peace, Love, Ecstasy !**

**XXXX**


	24. Everything in its right place

**Hello once more, Dudes ! =)**

**It's now August 27th as I type this. I'm on vacation since August 18th and will start work again only on September 3rd, so I've still got plenty of time ahead to write a bit of SL. All the more since my batteries are recharged from the great week I spent wz family in Mallorca, a spanish island from an archipelago called Baleares, in Mediterranean Sea (do some of ya know where that is ?)**

**Okay, so our crew have difficulty remembering the way back to the interdimensional passage, and ask Katie to come to the rescue on the now Light Planet. Therefore she enters the passage and…**

…**and ?**

**That's for ya to find out with this new bunch !**

**Oh, and thanxxxx to Blood-of-Silver for mentioning my story as « great » and asking readers to… read it ! (yeah, I know…) Thumbs up to ya, Ana ! You ROCK !**

**Oh (bis), by the way : the title of this chappy is between commas («… ») because it's actually the title of a Radiohead song.**

**And now, wzout further babbling… N'joy ! P**

**/**

**23 _ « EVERYTHING IN ITS RIGHT PLACE »**

**/**

"What did she say ?" the jock asked in a serious tone. He sure was worried over Cathy.

"She's coming, Dan'." the brunette replied. "And good thing is, we apparently won't have to do anything for her to find our location : our own energies are sufficient for her to determine where we stand exactly. That's one less problem to handle."

"I'm very pleased to hear that Katie can come and rescue you" Lauren let them know with a wide grin.

"Thank you for your nicety, Your Majesty !" Sam replied.

"Yes, that is excellent news !" Ana announced.

"I'm sure you will make it in time !" Gianell added.

"I'm confident you will, too !" Emily concluded.

"Thank you all !" Chris told them, looking each of them straight in the eyes.

Sam had got wondering, and she phrased it aloud, since no one spoke for a few seconds.

"What will _**you**_ do yourselves, after we have left ?"

Her amber globes caught each one's eye, but all naturally stopped on Lauren.

"We will have to come back to Fic, send all shadows back to their owners' bodies, then revive Desmira and Mytylys..."

"You can ?" Danny asked abruptly. "You can revive them ?"

The grin on the Queen's face grew wider as she rolled some of her eyes in his direction.

"Yes, we can. As long as we make sure to have stored one's Vital Sparkle, we can revive that one person. The Vital Sparkle is the fundamental principle of Life, just like Szônn is the fundamental principle of the shadows. And I do know that Ana kept everybody's Vital Sparkles safe with her before venturing with you into the Dark Base. Am I right ?"

She asked this question with two of her eyes set on the Chancellor.

"Exactly, Your Highness. I did so, and I also got time to retrieve the one of Mytylys, so we can revive really everybody."

"I'm so glad to hear that !" Sam stated.

"Of course you are !" Lauren said with a gentle smile. "Oh, and of course we will have to send the Water Princess back to her planet."

The Waterian bowed at this.

"Thank you so much for everything you did and will do for me, Your Majesty ! Your reputation is really below reality : you are much kinder and wiser than it is rumored !"

Lauren had a soft laughter.

"My gratitude to you for saying so, Emily. And it's natural that a monarch will do all that is in his or her power to make things as good as they can possibly be !"

They were all smiling in this minute, but...

"Hey, watch out !"

It was Danny's voice giving that cry of alert.

He was pointing at the sky, and sure enough, in the distance, all could see a huge silhouette gliding majestically in their direction.

"It's not a Poisoner" the tech informed them, although they could easily tell by themselves. "A new kind of enemy then. Who knows what this one is capable of... "

The creature was now visibly getting down at them, gradually taking its enormous body down to where MBC, Beabas and Waterian stood.

"YOU WON'T PREVENT US FROM SAVING CATHY, MONSTER !" the jock shouted on the top of his lungs. "I'LL HAVE YOU DOWN BEFORE !"

But as he was trying to get his blaster, he felt a pressure on his shoulder.

He turned, only to find the Light Sovereign by his side, her hand on his shoulder.

"No, you mustn't shoot at her, Danny. For it's a friend of yours, not an enemy."

The spiky boy looked at her as if he didn't understand.

"Do you know this alien ?" the yellow buster inquired.

"Yes, I do. I couldn't tell immediately _who_ it was when I saw her approach, but now she has got close enough for me to recognize her."

They all were astounded, and couldn't utter anything for a while, during which the large creature landed a few feet away from them.

The Queen was first to make it to the new alien's side, but all soon followed, and the next words of Lauren surprised the three humans.

"My greeting to you, Katie. I'm so sorry, I hadn't recognized you. Please accept my apologies for this !"

The big extraterrestrial answered in a surprisingly graceful voice for such a huge being.

"Needless apologize, Lauren. After all, you haven't seen me in my alien form for a long long time, isn't it ?"

The six MBC eyes widened as they heard that voice. A familiar voice indeed, although they hadn't heard it "live" for quite some time now.

"Is it... really you, Katie ?" Chris couldn't help phrasing it that way.

"Yes, it is. Sorry I couldn't come here in my human form, but that would have taken far more time, and time is precisely what we're lacking right now. My alien shape can move faster, although my size doesn't allow me to speed up like other winged creatures do."

The three earthlings were observing the alien aspect of Katie.

She looked like an enormous Manta skate **(A/N : skate as the flat fish living in the sea, not the board used by humans, eh eh ! And Manta skate is the biggest variety of it... So much for ichthyology, right ? :D)** of a golden color, with a multitude of light blue dots scattered over her body. Four great eyes were placed on the sides of the head, two on each side. A massive tail ended the flat body, divided in four at its extremity. And the mouth showed itself a little way below, somewhat hidden.

"What a curious aspect you have !" the macho boy said, before adding quickly : "Hum, no offense meant ! It's just that I've never seen anything like this before !" He went on gazing at the huge body.

"I don't feel offended" Katie replied in a serene voice.

"So, you two know each other ?" Sam questioned, her eyes making the to-and-fro between the Minnie inhabitant and the Fic Monarch.

"It's a long story" Lauren replied "But all I can tell you is that Katie did help us many many years ago, when we were fighting Hathho. She managed to decimate his dark army with other Minnie warriors, and helped us to trick the Dark Lord so that Holy Heroes of the sacred Union could corner him and defeat him. Katie's help proved invaluable. We became good friends, but somehow lost contact over the years. She had other duties to take care of, which demanded her full attention, and so had I. But it's a pleasure to see her back."

She paused for a few seconds, then went on.

"Now, you need to make it quick : Cathy demands your help ! You must hurry back to the passage. No time to lose. Please, Katie, go as fast as you can ! I'm afraid there's not much left !"

"There isn't, indeed !" her long-time friend conceded. "Come on, MBC : climb on my back !"

"Alright. But first, let us just two minutes to say goodbye to our new friends. "Sam precised. She then turned to Lauren, Ana and Gianell, and bowed.

"Thank you so much for helping us, Your Majesty, Ana, Gianell. And all of your army, of course. And Desmira too. We wouldn't have achieved anything without your help."

She turned to Emily.

"And naturally thank you as well for helping us. I hope you have a safe trip back to your planet."

"Thank you for that, and let me wish you the best for Cathy and you all. I know you will make it. It was an honor fighting with you. I won't forget you !" the Water Princess said.

"And so won't we !" the Light Queen added. "It's us to show you gratitude for helping to save me and to fight Zythho. You were of invaluable efficiency, and it's an honor to call you our friends. Be sure I will pass on your thanks to Desmira and my men, and officially declare you Friends of the Light People, once we are back to Fic. Come back here whenever you want, you will always be welcome !"

And with that said, Lauren bowed humbly.

"I haven't enough words to thank you, Sam, Chris, Danny !" Ana told them, looking at each in turn. "It was a pleasure getting to know you and fighting by your side. I formulate my best wishes for you all, and please pass on our greetings to Cathy when she wakes up !"

"We will !" Chris exclaimed.

"My heart is sad to see you take your leave from us..." Gianell informed them. "But I will always remember our common adventure, and how you bravely helped us all the way. Your generosity will be honored by our people back in Fic. Thank you, Friends, thank you for everything !"

They all looked at each other, as moved as could be a group of friends splitting up and not to reunite before a long long time. They were so glad to have built those strong bonds between humans and Beabas (and Waterian), and therefore so sad to have to go away.

But time was passing on and on, like a neverending river that one can't swim up...

After several minutes of emotional staring, Sam's voice could be heard.

"Come on, Team, let's go !"

But her voice was trembling, which seldom happened to her... and she wiped off her eyes when she had her back turned on the others.

The MBC got on Katie's back, and the alien's body carved to enable them to put their feet in holes, while three extensions rose from her golden mass, each in front of a human.

"Here, grab this to avoid falling ! Hold it firmly during the whole flight !"

Lauren gestured towards Cathy's shadow, pronouncing a spell. The shadow then floated up and positioned itself behind the humans.

"It will stay with you all the time, and will leave only when you are in front of Cathy's body. Good luck ! And thank you for your help, Katie. Goodbye to you as well !"

"You're welcome. I'm happy to be here for Hugo's kids. Take care, Lauren, and hopefully we will meet again... sooner, this time !"

The massive body started to rise, slowly.

Sam, Chris and Danny waved goodbye to their new friends, who waved back. Emotion was almost tangible, on both sides.

Then, after reaching some height, the skate-looking alien made a graceful curve and left in the direction she had come from.

Beabas and Waterian watched them leave, their hearts heavy with regret.

After a while, though, Emily spoke up.

"Do you think they will make it ? I want to persuade myself they will, but a bit of doubt still remains..."

"I know they will" Lauren said. "My sixth sense tells me so, and it rarely fails. I'm sure they will be back in time. Now, it's _our_ turn to leave and come back home. We still have shadows to dispatch, bodies to revive and a Princess to take care of !"

She smiled at Emily as she uttered the last part.

The Light fighters and the Waterian cast one last look in the direction Katie had flown to, and they started for the city of Fic.

And soon, the place was desert again, somehow reminiscent of the moment when MBC and Beabas had left from that plain, with the unconscious body of Chris being carried by Light guards, short after the struggle against Poisoners and Howlers.

Only, this time, no dark minion was watching them, hidden behind a rock...

/

"Are you okay ?" Katie's loud voice asked.

"Yes, we are !" Chris answered.

Then he took a glance at Sam and found her looking with determination to the front... but still, he managed to detect some sadness in her eyes.

"You alright, Sam ?" the blunette inquired.

She turned her golden irises towards him and a weak smile stretched with effort over her features.

"Yes. I know that you are concerned for me, and I thank you for that. But it's nothing, really. Just somewhat doleful to leave such great friends. I wish we could return here not too long from now, and with Cathy this time."

He laid his hand over her shoulder.

"We will, don't worry."

He smiled a cheerful smile, and this made her own grin get bigger.

"Trouble ahead !" informed another yell of Danny's.

Indeed, in the distance, all could see the characteristic silhouettes of Poisoners flying their way. And there were quite a few of them.

"Be careful, they're very dangerous ! I can tell !" Chris shouted.

"Don't worry, Christopher !" Katie replied. "They will soon see that _I_ can be pretty dangerous myself."

The alien group split, all choosing a different direction. Then each member of the squad started launching his darts.

Katie "whirlwinded" rapidly in the sky, faster than she had been moving up to now, and opened her mouth.

Green circular rays came out and headed for the foes. The latter began to disband, shrieking loudly, but didn't give up and renewed their attacks.

Katie's tail then moved apace and flung shiny spikes at the winged monsters. Many got hit and immediately exploded. The tail sent even more spikes, hitting more aliens.

There remained a few of those horrors.

The Minnie fighter concentrated and her tail got upward, then stiff vertically. From its top, a ball of static energy grew. Then the tail aimed at the enemies still flying around and cast a powerful beam at each of them.

The result was immediate and efficient : the horrible beings sank to the ground with agony screeches and their bodies dissolved short after touching the surface of the planet.

All foes had been eliminated without the MBC to pull out their blasters !

"Very impressive !" the red fighter congratulated Katie.

"See ? I had told you I could be dangerous, no ?"

"Yes, you had..." the jock admitted.

"Careful, now : we're almost there. I'll take a dive down. Hold the sticks tightly, please !"

They did as they had been told, and a minute later, the huge skate-like alien was hovering at a fast pace above the ground.

Sam took a look at the tiny hourglass, and her beautiful eyes opened to the max.

There remained almost _nothing_ ! Only a few grains, not more ! It was going to be over in minutes !

_We **must** make it ! We **MUST** ! Come on, come on ! We can't fail ! No, we **CAN'T** !_

And that's when, raising her face, she felt her breath block for a short while.

There, in front of them, on the road, was the interdimensional passage.

And a few seconds later, the huge alien rushed straight into it.

The passage's size diminished, diminished, diminished, until it had the size of a dot, then it vanished into thin air...

/

In the throne room were gathered the half-dark bodies, the dozens of shadows and the corpses of Desmira and Mytylys.

Lauren was positioned in front of them, Ana and Joshua by her side, Gianell in the back with Emily. Two guards were standing by the huge door.

The Sovereign had requested the help of Ana and Joshua because she felt way tired after all her energy expenditure and therefore felt the need of supplementary power to support her own. She may be strong, but even a monarch can be tired after tough battles.

The three most powerful Beabas raised their hands together and recited a first spell. Their eyes started to glow intensely, always more and more.

Blue halos formed around their hands and grew bigger as well as brighter.

All six hands were directed at the mass of shadows, and all three mouths uttered the final "verse" of the spell.

The blue halos left the hands and began to scatter around the numerous dark shapes floating upright.

Once they were all disposed at regular intervals, a blue barrier appeared, making the connection between all six blue orbs, and a hum rose in the place.

The shadows were moving now. Many returned to the bodies they were linked to, many others left directly through the walls of the throne room, on their way to their distant owners, and finally part of them disintegrated into thin air.

Finally, no shadow remained in front of them.

Emily couldn't help asking a question.

"Why did some get destroyed ?"

It was the Chancellor who turned back to her to give explanations.

"Those are the shadows whose owners have already been covered entirely by the black veil, which is the black matter enveloping the bodies. Once an organism is fully contaminated by the black veil, it dies and the shadow becomes useless to it, so that shadow gets naturally eliminated by self destruction. So, all those shadows you saw disintegrate belonged to people who already died."

The Water Princess felt a shiver run through her whole back.

"Oh my God, it's horrible ! That means that many have perished because of Zythho !"

"That's alas what it means, yes. But he won't kill anybody else, now."

Lauren, Ana and Joshua then walked to the corpses of Desmira and Mytylys. Gianell followed, as did Emily. The General felt her heart beat very hard within her chest. She was about to get her sister back !

The three Master Beabas raised their right forefingers and focused their energy.

Rings of light appeared around the fingers.

The three pointed their fingers towards the two bodies put close to each other.

The rings of light left the forefingers, following their shapes and leaving them at the end, then began revolving around the corpses.

The latter left the floor and gained height, hovering gently, and the rings continued revolving, but this time doing it around the whole body, from head till feet and back to head then to feet, and so on. It was as if the rings of light were trying to slowly weave a light web around Desmira and Mytylys.

This lasted for several minutes, then Ana put her left hand inside her tunic, took it back in a fist and opened that fist.

Two sparkles left the palms of the Chancellor and each one got to its respective body, then lowered and "drowned" into it.

The light dance of the rings continued for a while, then they dimmed away and nothing was left of the magical phenomena observed up to then.

There was a moment of absolute silence. No one talked. No one moved. Even breathing had become completely silent.

And then, magic worked.

Gianell's sister and the Dark Commander opened their eyes, blinked a few times, wondering where they were, then got up again and watched the three magical Beabas and the Water Princess.

The General couldn't hold herself back and walked quickly to her sister, whom she embraced tenderly.

"You are alive ! I'm so happy ! I was sad to no end when you passed away ! But there you are again !"

"Yes, I'm here again, don't worry ! And given that we are in the throne room, I guess that means we have defeated the Dark Lord and returned here safely."

"Exactly. We have killed Zythho and the Dark Base got completely destroyed. So our victory is total. Her Majesty and Her Excellence, helped by the Venerable, just managed to send all shadows back to their respective owners."

Desmira's eyes widened as she recalled something.

"The Monster Buster Club ! Sam, Chris and Danny ! Where are they ? They have to quickly bring back the shadow of their friend Cathy back to their planet !"

Gianell smiled.

"My turn to tell you not to worry, little sister ! They already left with one of their friend, who came straight from Earth to lead them back over there, with Cathy's shadow. There wasn't much time left, but we all are confident that they will make it."

"I'm most glad about that. And so happy to see you again, sister !"

They hugged again, then Gianell turned to the Master Beabas and bowed respectfully.

"Your Majesty, Your Excellence, Venerable Elder, please accept all my gratitude for bringing Desmira back from the dead. I have no words to express you how much I want to thank you for this. May the Gods bless you infinitely !"

Lauren bowed, soon imitated by Ana and Joshua.

"You don't need to thank us, Gianell. Yours and Desmira's happiness is our most precious reward. We are so delighted to see you back together. I wish that you shall never be separated again !" the Queen told them.

Mytylys got up on his feet and kneeled in front of the Sovereign.

"Queen Lauren, I don't know how to express you my shame as I remember my mistakes towards Beabas. I believed for years that you were the enemies, the bad ones and that we were the good ones, meant to wipe you off the surface of this planet. I fought you, and almost killed General Gianell, and I was completely wrong doing so. How couldn't I realize my error earlier ? I am a miserable and I need to be punished for what I did. I will listen to your sentence and submit to it without hesitation."

The Fic Monarch stepped up to the purple alien and presented him her hands, to help him up.

The leopard-like creature watched these hands, then the Queen herself, then the hands again. But he finally put his own inside hers and she pulled him up gently.

"Mytylys, please, don't apologize ! You don't have to ! You fought us because Zythho had mischievously maintained you in the wrong belief that we, Beabas, were the actual foes and you, Darkers, were the "heroes", could we say. Zythho was very cunning and sly, he acted underhand the whole time and tricked you into believing something that was wrong. But because you did believe it doesn't make you guilty or conniving to his crimes. When someone is trapped be a sly one, who knows how to "arrange" the truth his/her own way, then that someone is a _victim_, not a guilty one."

Lauren paused and a grin formed on her lips.

"You have nothing to be punished for, Mytylys, and nothing to be forgiven for neither. You are a brave person, with a good heart. I can feel it in your own vibes. You suffered enough, from Hypalin's death until the realization of Zythho's betrayal. We have to be grateful to you for killing Skarlar and trying to do the same with the Dark Lord. Now, please let serenity fill your heart and don't forget this : Hypalin could be so proud to have a grandson as courageous and honest as you. You are his worthy descendant. And it's an honor to know you, Mytylys !"

The leopard-looking alien stared at the Queen for a moment, then he bowed very low in front of her.

"Queen Lauren, your wisdom, your kindness and your intelligence equal your fairness, and it is an honor to know _**you**_, not me ! The Light People are so lucky to have such a noble monarch as you to lead them !"

He got up again, and looked around him.

"What will you do now ? Where will you go ?" asked Ana.

He let out a deep, sad sigh.

"I have no family left. Hypalin was my only parent down here. Now that he is dead, I have no one else. Maybe I should leave and enlist as a mercenary somewhere. It pays well, and since I've got no more Lord to serve..."

Lauren's smile got a tad bigger.

"Actually, you could serve another lord, if you agree to do so..."

The dotted extraterrestrial glanced at her with curiosity.

"Well, normally, there are only Beabas in my army, but... if Gianell has no objection to this, we could make an exception and keep you with us, since you have no more family and no real goal for now. You could be under the General's orders together with Desmira. Gianell ?"

The red-jewel Beaba turned towards her sister and quickly exchanged a bunch of words with her. Desmira concluded with a nod and a little smile.

The General turned towards Lauren, Ana and Mytylys.

"It will be an honor to make that exception and have you stay with us. I just talked to my sister and she agrees to work with you as a fighting partner. That is, if you agree to be under someone else's orders after having been the Dark Commander, leader of the Dark Army."

Mytylys grinned wide.

"Dear Gianell, I don't mind being the chief of anything anymore. All I want now is start a new life, a life of purity and honesty. And I will be glad to obey any of your orders. Also, I have to apologize for trying to kill you. I was dead wrong ! How could I..."

But the General had raised her hand.

"No apologies needed. Your friendship is enough."

And she walked up to the purple alien and shook hands with him. Desmira did the same.

The three of them turned to face the Light Leader, and Gianell stretched her hand to indicate Mytylys.

"Your Majesty, Your Excellence, Venerable, we are proud to present you the second Light Colonel !"

/

The sun was setting slowly. It had been nearing the mountains and was now almost hidden behind them. The last sunrays seemed endlessly, and they were falling straight through the window of Cathy Smith's bedroom.

And they were lighting once precise spot : the last few hairs that were still blond on the Rhapsodian's head. And, more precisely, the only remaining colored place of her body, which for the rest was integrally black.

Hugo Smith was kneeling by her bed, his hands wrung for a last desperate prayer, his red eyes shedding tears incessantly.

These last few blond locks would be swallowed by darkness, and then he would lose his granddaughter.

It was too late now.

The sun was setting, and in some way, Cathy's life was at its "sunset" as well.

Sam, Chris and Danny had done all that they could, he knew that. And couldn't possibly bear a grudge to them. They had probably given all their forces to save her... but it hadn't been sufficient.

_Oh Cathy... Cathy... how I will miss you... you were my reason to live... you filled my whole existence with joy and laughter... it will be so dull without you... I will be so alone... Can I really endure it ? Can I live without you, Cathy ?_

He looked up to her.

The sun had almost completely vanished now. The very last sunrays were about to disappear behind the peak...

...when the giant skate-like alien crashed into the room !

Sam, Chris and Danny fell hard, shouting as they did so. But pain was secondary. The three of them got back up and hurried : Sam grabbed the head of Cathy's shadow, Chris the hips and Danny the feet. And all put the shadow over Cathy's body !

The shadow immediately sank into the Rhapsodian organism and disappeared completely.

The sunrays were gone.

The hourglass was empty.

The body remained unchanged.

All could feel a gigantic wave of sorrow fill their whole beings. Their eyes began to water.

It seemed as if the death knell had started in the room.

They all felt empty.

Completely, desperately empty.

They had failed.

Tears were now flowing from all eyes, even Katie's, who had morphed back into human.

_Oh no... no... NO !_

But then...

The last locks were still blond, and the color started to spread back from those locks down to the rest of the hair.

All stared at disbelief, as the white skin of the forehead reappeared, then the closed eyes, so blue, so bubbly when Cathy was awake, then the pink lips...

They went on crying, but this time it wasn't for the same reason. It wasn't out of sadness anymore ! A fierce, crazy joy, a mad enthusiasm had replaced it !

The chest, the abdomen, the thighs, the knees, the calves, the ankles, the feet...

And Cathy's body appeared in all of its colors ! The only one actually missing was... black !

"Oh my God ! Oh my God !" Mr Smith screamed. "Oh kids, you made it ! You made it ! Come on, let me hug you !"

And he did hug them, all together, laughing uncontrollably, crying at the same time.

They also laughed while weeping, their organisms completely letting loose of themselves.

Katie came to them and hugged them all as well.

Then all gathered eagerly in front of Cathy, waiting for a reaction of hers.

And it happened.

After so much time spent unconscious, she opened her eyes, blinked a few times, yawned, then turned her head to the side and blinked again, then frowned.

And they could hear her voice again, at last. A sleepy voice, yes, but still... her _voice_ !

"Why are you guys crying and grinning simultaneously ?!"

/

The sphere of water was floating above the white towers of Fic's palace.

A column of liquid emerged from below and stretched until it touched the paved floor of the highest tower, where the Queen, the Chancellor, the General, the now two Colonels and the Water Princess were gathered.

Four people were now coming down through the crystal clear tube. And in a flash, they were down with Beabas, Waterian and Mytylys.

All resembled Emily, therefore they were Waterians, just like her.

The oldest of the four had a light liquid crown around his head and a pendant holding an orange jewel hung from his neck. The one immediately behind him had a serious look on his features and wore a pendant with a brown stone embedded. Then came two others carrying spears, who obviously were guards.

The first one opened his mouth. A melodious voice filled the air.

"My compliments to you, Queen Lauren. Please allow me to introduce myself : my name is Faryan and I'm the King of planet Wateria. And here is the Water Quartermaster, Lord Baol. We haven't met so far, but I heard the most flattering comments concerning your kindness of heart, wisdom, sense of justice, intelligence and bravery. And given those I heard it from, who all are reliable persons, I can tell it is definitely true. It is therefore an honor to have the pleasure to meet such a noble sovereign as you, who really honors the crown heads of the universe."

With that said, he bowed respectfully, and so did his second-in-command.

"Let me thank you for your kind words, King Faryan. You may be pleased to know that I did hear the same flattering compliments regarding yourself. Thus did I know you are one of the worthiest monarchs of this galaxy, and probably of the whole universe. And the meeting pleasure is therefore reciprocal" the red alien declared.

It was her turn to bow, soon imitated by Ana, Gianell, Desmira and Mytylys.

The old Waterian smiled.

"Thank you so much, Queen Lauren. But most of all, thanks for saving my dear daughter from the claws of the Dark Lord. I knew she had been abducted, but there were no witness of the abduction, so I had no clue on who had done it... until I received your message. My gratitude to you has no boundaries. And as a sign of esteem to you, I would like to propose you an alliance between the Light People and the Water People : whenever you need help, don't hesitate to contact us, and reciprocally. Would you do me a favour by agreeing to this alliance between our two planets ?"

Lauren's eyes shone with pure bliss.

"It will be with great pleasure that I agree to this. Waterians can consider Beabas as their friends."

She held out her hand.

"And Beabas can rely on Waterians as their unfailing allies."

He shook her hand very gently.

Emily came nearer.

"Thank you once again for saving me, Queen Lauren. I owe you my life and won't forget it. Whatever I can do for you, I will do. Don't hesitate to contact me for anything !"

The red alien grinned brightly.

"Thank you, Emily. I won't forget. And it was a delight getting to know you. My heart is filled with joy to see you reunited with your father."

She nodded her head slowly, as a variant of the full bow.

"We have to take our leave from you now. But we will be proud to announce to our people the alliance now existing between Light and Water planets. May the Holy Ones protect you, always !" the King said.

"We are glad to count Waterians among our friends. May Peace and Justice make your nation the most prosperous possible !" the Queen replied.

The King then bowed towards Ana, Gianell, Desmira and Mytylys, but Emily said goodbye in person to all of them.

Then the five Waterians raised rapidly in the liquid column, and once they were safe in the water sphere, the latter took off in a majestic way, and soon was out of sight.

Lauren turned towards the others.

"I'm very satisfied of this alliance with Waterians. They are said to be people with the purest hearts. I couldn't have dreamt of a better bond with another planet."

She paused, then her grin stretched up.

"So, dear companions, what do you think we should do now ? Are we done and ready to live peacefully, or not yet ?"

She asked the question, but all could tell she already knew the answer.

Ana smiled as well.

"Hum... your opinion, General ?"

She had guessed too, but wanted the strategist to reply.

Gianell cleared her throat.

"Well... maybe we have some monsters to take care of on the surface of this planet, before we can definitely call it the Light Planet, once and for all. What do the Colonels think about this ?"

Desmira didn't answer but faced Mytylys. She preferred him to be the one to reply, since he was new to the Light Army and wanted to leave that honor to him.

The leopard-like looked at Desmira, then at Gianell.

"Yes, General. I think you are right. We must purge our planet from the remaining Howlers and Poisoners. Once all darkness is eliminated, then it _will_ be the Light Planet !"

Desmira nodded in approval, a smile on her lips.

"Very well !" Lauren exclaimed. "Then so be it ! We will put the final dot to the presence of evil on this soil !"

And with that said, all entered the tower to head for the Strategy Room.

/

"Thank you, Katie !" Mr Smith said. "Thank you so much for your invaluable help ! We wouldn't have achieved anything without you !"

The elderly lady showed her teeth as her lips stretched up.

"It really was my pleasure to be here for you. I'm happy to no end to see your granddaughter up and healthy again !"

"Thank you very much !" Cathy told Katie. **(A/N : yeah, just couldn't resist making that pun... XD)** "I owe you a lot !"

"You owe me nothing, sweet girl. I just ask you one thing in return : to be as happy as you possibly can !"

The bubbly blonde grinned as wide as she could.

"I sure will ! You too, please !"

Katie nodded then gave Hugo Smith one last quick hug, smiled at each in turn then turned around and left in the alley. They all watched her drive away in the night.

"I really can't believe what happened to me !" the pink member said. "But where did I lose that shadow ? And when ?"

"It doesn't matter, Cath' !" Sam said in a persuasive tone. "What matters is that you're back with us and ready to bust aliens again in our company!"

"Sam is right, you know." Chris declared. "Let's forget about the cause and focus on the positive outcome. Isn't it, Danny ?"

The jock had been staring at the Rhapsodian for a long time now, wondering when he should tell her, and so he didn't hear his friend's question.

"Dannyyyyy ?" Sam teased.

"Uh ? Yeah ? What ? What is it ?"

All three plus Mr Smith laughed.

"I was saying that the most important is the time being, not the place and time related to the loss of the shadow. Right ?"

The emerald-eyed boy smiled his most confident smile.

"Yeah, definitely. Don't get preoccupied over it, Cath'. All that matters is now. How do you feel, tell me ?"

The yound Rhapsodian pondered her reply.

"Hum, I'd say... dead hungry !"

Sam grimaced.

"Hum, Cath'... please avoid using the word "dead" for a while. I mean, you almost got dead, so..."

The bubbly blonde put a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide.

"Oooops, sorry. I'll be careful. And now, what if we all ate something ? I could eat tons of burgers ! And after, why don't we watch TV ? I know it's very late and all, but I've been sleeping for so long... I don't wanna sleep again. You stay with me to watch it, guys ?"

All opened their eyes to the max.

"Hum, sorry Cath', but... I'm exhausted !" stated Chris. "So yeah, I'll eat with you, since I'm hungry as well, but after, please let me go to bed. I'm so tired !"

"Same here." Sam added. "Sorry, Cath', but we _**really**_ are very weary from all the struggles, running and the emotional load. My body is demanding food, yes, but most of all rest. I hope you understand and forgive us ?"

Cathy chuckled.

"Yes, of course. I get it and no hard feelings, mind you. At least you stay with me for the meal. That's already nice from you."

"Hum, Cath'..."

The Rhapsodian turned to the spiky boy.

"Yes, Dan' ?"

"If you like, I can stay and watch TV with you..."

"Oh great ! But I mean... aren't you tired as well ?"

The athletic boy grinned.

"Actually no. Curiously not. And hum... can you come with me for a moment ? There's something I need to tell you. I can't wait anymore."

She looked at him questioningly then shrugged it off.

"Sure. There I am."

Danny let her pass by and quickly cast a glance at his other two friends.

They were smiling, but Sam did something else.

She nodded and winked at him.

Danny felt the blush on his cheek get more intense. She had guessed !

_Really, Sammy, I don't know how you do to always guess things that easily..._

Then he smiled back and followed Cathy.

"Well, kids, I hope you won't mind if I don't stay with you. I'm exhausted from all these emotions. Have the best night ! See you tomorrow !"

"Goodnight, Mr Smith." Sam replied.

And after a pause, she spoke again.

"Danny's gonna tell her" the African-American said. "He's been so afraid to lose her that he can't keep his secret any longer. And he's gonna let her know right now."

"His secret ? You mean..."

He paused, hesitating.

"Actually, it's the same secret as mine..." she precised.

"You have a secret too ?" the tech questioned.

"Yes. Wanna hear it, maybe ?"

"Of course !"

He actually wasn't sure of the exact nature of the secret, so he waited to be sure.

"I could tell you with words, but... I prefer to tell you with deeds !"

This being said, she closed, leaned and gently kissed his lips, while her hand grabbed his, and squeezed it tightly.

The freckled boy was taken aback, but he didn't resist any second, closed his eyes and returned the favour.

And a few minutes later, in the next room, Danny and Cathy wrapped their arms around each other and did just the same...

/

**AT LAST ! More than 7'000 words ! I beat my own record ! And I wrote that in less than 24 hours ! I mean, come on, not even Blood-of-Silver can write that long in so little time ! (Oh, Ana, stop frowning ! You're more attractive when ya smile ! XD)**

**So everything's well that ends well, eh !**

**But it is the end, really ?**

**Unless good old Leo has got another surprise in store, eh eh !**

**You'll have to wait a bit more to know !**

**But after all that you've read, you can be just a _little bit_ more patient, can't ya ?**

**Take care and write stories !**

**Peace, Love, Ecstasy !**

**XXXX**


	25. FIAT LUX !

**Howdy Buddies ! =D**

**You know, Folks, I'm really very happy with last chapter ! Because it contains both action and emotion, and so much positive ! Here : Sam, Chris and Danny can make it back to Earth and save Cathy Lauren and Ana bring back shadows to their respective bodies they revive Desmira and Mytylys they contact Emily's father, who comes to Fic to bring her back to Wateria Light and Water People conclude an alliance Mytylys stays with Beabas and enters the Light Army, since he has nowhere else to go and no family left (in a way, Lauren, Ana, Gianell and all other Beabas become his new family) both MBC couples get formed as they kiss.**

**I really felt like showing myself more optimistic in this chapter. The positive had already began to show in the previous chapter, « COUNTDOWN », where things got better and better, except for MBC forgetting the way back to the passage.**

**I really think the last chapter was one of my best ones, objectively speaking. Not trying to show off or anything, like those writers mentioning each time their number of visitors and views (needless mention any username, right ?)**

**Hum, as for the title of this one here… FIAT LUX means in Latin : « may the light be » or « let there be light ». A way to make optimism to the top and…**

***spots something on the right***

**And… hum… I… I gotta go… so for the last time : N'joooooooooy !**

***runs away like crazy as BoS comes chasing after him with an axe in the left hand and a chainsaw in the right hand***

**/**

**24 _ FIAT LUX !**

**/**

**[A/N : two weeks have passed since Cathy got saved]**

Cathy Smith woke up from a beautiful dream.

In that dream, she was with Danny on a beautiful beach, and the two of them went into the water together, enjoying the coolness of the ocean as a stunning contrast to August's heat.

After playing with each other, splashing reciprocally, they ended up body against body, her arms wrapped around his waist, his arms around her neck. Their heads leaned, and leaned more, and more than more… until their lips connected and pushed gently !

And that's when she had felt the morning sun on her face. She hadn't closed the blinds for she wanted to watch that beautiful starry sky and lovely full moon, last evening… and ended up wondering where that Light Planet she wanted to visit could be located.

Yes, she definitely had to go there with her friends, in order to thank herself Beabas for their great help. For none of this would have been possible without their assistance. Therefore, while she owed Sam, Chris and Danny her life, she somehow also owed Beabas that life of hers. She was indebted to them, and what a debt that was : her own existence !

_One day, we'll fly up there and I will meet, Lauren, Ana, Gianell, Desmira, Joshua, Mytylys, and express them all my gratitude ! And of course I'd like to fly to Wateria as well, to meet up with Emily… They all are my fellow aliens, after all. I'm looking forward to those future times._

The young Rhapsodian got up and headed straight for the shower. Then she dressed with colorful clothes : a lovely flowered dress and matching flowered shoes, flat and comfortable. Once this was done, she proceeded to her make-up table and took all the time needed to put on shiny eye-shadow, pink blusher and translucent gloss. The « icing on the cake » was a dash of that sweet-smelling perfume Sam had offered her last year. **(A/N : for those who saw the episode « Princess Sam », it's the reverse situation : in that one, it was Cathy to have offered a Rhapsodian perfume to Sam… which made the latter** **« smell like an alien »)**

But why was Cathy making herself that elegant and seductive, will you ask, dear readers ?

Well…

There are occasions during the course of a year when one just _has_ to look good. And for our favourite bubbly teenager, the present occasion was…

Her **birthday** !

She had just turned 17 in human years, but her alien age had now reached : 900 !

And of course, knowing her this well, you can imagine how excited she was !

She rushed out of her room… only to find herself face to face with a present box, pink with a red ribbon tied around.

« Buud linvat ekki, Schloumba ! » Mr Smith let out in a joyous tone, grinning wide.

**(A/N : …and wonder no further, Folks : that's the way Rhapsodians wish one of their kind happy birthday, and it means something like human's « have a prosperous new year »…)**

« Jalam, Grandpa ! » the pink member replied, grabbing the box.

**(A/N : … while that first word above means « thank you » in their language ! =D)**

« So, are you ready for a great day, Schloumba ? »

« Oh yes, I am ! More than ever, actually ! I feel hyper today ! »

« You know, Cathy, I've been missing that hyperness of yours ! When you were prisoner of the black veil… I thought I couldn't live with that joy of yours every single day… »

Cathy put her hand on the old man's arm.

« I know you worried so much about me, Grandpa. Thank you so much for being that kind a grandfather ! I wouldn't want any other, really ! You are a wonderful person and I can tell myself lucky to be your granddaughter ! Thank you ! »

The white-haired elder smiled softly.

« No, thank _**YOU**_ for being such a wonderful granddaughter, Cathy ! You light up my life like no other ! And now, tell me, what would you like for breakfast ? »

There wasn't a second of hesitation in the teenager's reaction.

« Pancakes ! Drowned in maple syrup ! »

Hugo Smith looked at his descendant with a knowing look, a wide smile spread on his face.

« Well, guess what ? There is a plateful of pancakes and a maple syrup bottle waiting for you on the kitchen table. And they all are feeling lonely. Wouldn't you keep them company ? »

The blonde's eyes opened wider.

« What ? They're already baked ? But how did you know… ? »

She stopped and simply grinned at him.

« Because I know you, and remember it's your favourite breakfast food. »

He winked at her and she chuckled.

« Thank you, Grandpa ! You're the best ! »

And she threw her arms around him for a tight morning hug.

« Eh eh, you're welcome, Schloumba ! But I wouldn't wait too long if I were you : they are going to be frozen if you don't hurry ! »

Cathy broke the embrace and showed her teeth.

« I will ! See you later, Grandpa ! »

And once she had shrilled this, the hyper one quickly ran downstairs.

The old alien followed her, his gaze wrapping her in a tender cocoon of love as she was rushing down.

Yes, what would become of him without her ? His reason to live…

He sweetly smiled and proceeded to Cathy's room to make her bed.

/

It was 11 :11 when the bell was heard.

Cathy ran to open, only to find a very enthusiastic Danny, grinning up to the ears.

« Hi Cath' ! Gee, you look… awesome, wonderful, marvelous, splendid, gorgeous… sorry, I can't think of any other synonyms for now, but if you leave me just one minute… »

She felt heat over her face and knew she was blushing.

« Thanks a lot, Dan' ! Your compliments make me melt like a chocolate-banana ice-cream ! »

The jock looked at her as if she suddenly had grown a second head.

« Hum… yeah… forget it… » she sheepishly discarded.

Then the emerald-eyes shone as the boy took his hand out from behind his back.

« HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SWEETHEART ! » he screamed as he gave her a tiny dark blue box closed by a light blue ribbon.

Her eyes rounded at this.

« Oh, thank you so much, Honey ! Thankyouthankyouthankyou ! » she rewarded as she took the box in her palm.

Then she jumped to his neck and, after a quick look into his green orbs, she rested her lips against his.

He kissed back with tenderness. He may have appeared as a macho boy in the old days, but since their return from the Light Planet and his love declaration, he had changed. And gone were the days when his gaze was looking for Wendy. He even had « slowed down » on boasting in general, now preferring a more composed attitude.

Love had helped Danny maturing somehow. Even if he still liked to tease Sam and Chris regularly.

« I love you ! » she said, her ocean stare still locked with his forest one.

« Eh eh, same here, Cath' ! » he replied, smirking tenderly. « And if someone once had told me I would fall in love with an alien… I probably wouldn't have believed it for even one second… but still… and what a superb alien you are, my lovely Rhapsodian ! »

The blonde felt her body heat up, and especially her face.

« Oh, Honey… you're so charming… »

« That's coz you deserve it, Darling ! »

They smiled at each other, lost in their reciprocal stares, then she took him by the hand and got inside .

No sooner had Danny greeted Mr Smith and exchanged a few words with him that the bell rang a second time.

Cathy went to open and found Chris standing there.

« Hi there, Cathy ! Hope you're doing great ! » he exclaimed before smiling brightly.

She returned the grin, as bright as his.

« Of course I am ! And so happy to see you, Chris ! »

The freckled teenager handed her the box he had been carrying under his arm till then.

« And this is for you ! Happy birthday, Cathy ! »

She felt happiness overwhelm her heart.

« Oh, thank you very much, Chris ! You really are a great friend ! »

This being said, she gave him a great hug.

Danny showed himself by the Rhapsodian's side.

« Hey Dude ! What's up ? »

They high-fived.

« Mmmmh… the sky ? » the tech replied with a smirk.

The jock guffawed, and so did the blue-eyed girl.

« Ah ah, that's a great classic, really ! » the red member explained. « But curiously enough, I always laugh at it when it comes out ! »

« Glad you _still_ like that worn-out joke, even after so long… » the blunette replied. « Hum, I guess I'm the last one to arrive, right ? »

Cathy shook her head.

« Actually, you're the _last before one_ to come ! »

Chris looked surprised.

« Ah ? So Sam hasn't arrived yet ? »

« Eh no, Buddy ! » the spiky boy answered. « It's rather odd, since she usually gets here first ! She's as precise as a Swiss watch ! » **(A/N : uh uh, a bit of publicity for my country won't disturb, eh ? And yes, Switzerland indeed is notably famous for the watches manufactured in there ! Come visit Geneva someday, people ! :D)**

Chris followed Cathy and Danny inside, went to shake hands with Mr Smith and answered a few questions the old alien asked him. And just like before, that's when the bell rang again.

The bubbly blonde quickly got to the door and opened it on a very cute Samantha.

The leader was wearing a tight blue dress scattered with small yellow flowers and blue high heels. She had her hair loose, which almost reached her hips, so long the were. On her eyelids lay blue eye-shadow, on her cheeks a discrete red blusher and red lipstick for her mouth. Her nails showed blue, matching the dress, shoes and eye-shadow. Several rings could be seen on her fingers and bracelets at both her wrists. Round creole earrings hung elegantly by the sides of her head. Finally, a delicious fragrance emanate from her neck, around which a pearl necklace threw its sparkles.

« Hi, guys ! » she panted. « Sorry, I overslept ! Lame of me, I know, particularly today. I apologize for the delay. »

Cathy cheered her up with a smile and her happy babbling.

« No worries, Sam ! The boys just made it a few minutes ago, so don't stress out ! Everything is fine ! »

« Thanks, Cath' ! Oh, and happy birthday ! »

She held out a purple box around which was green ribbon.

« So many thanks for this, Sam ! » the young Rhapsodian exclaimed as she walked to her for a hug.

« Eh eh, my pleasure, really ! » the black girl replied during the embrace.

When they broke, Sam saw Danny approach her.

« Waow, Sammy ! You look so… so damn sexy, I'd say ! Think what, Chris ? »

The blunette couldn't phrase a single word, so gaping he was while admiring the love of his life. He couldn't get enough of the sight of it.

_God, she… she… she just is… stunningly gorgeous… absolutely magnificent… What a seductive girlfriend I have !_

« Your jaw is about to touch the ground, Buddy… » Danny teased.

The geek turned to glare at him, but his eyes didn't remained away from Sam for long, as he soon stared back at her.

She stepped to him and stood just inches from his face.

« Hi, Darling ! Do you like my outfit ? I put all that blue on just for you…»

This was followed by the most seductive smile ever.

Chris was getting lost inside those golden orbs which didn't leave his blue ones, not even for a second.

« Y… yeah… I… I do… » he stuttered. « You… you look… just amazing ! »

Her grin widened.

« Really ? » she asked in a sexy tone, teasing him.

He managed to gulp.

« Yeah… you… you are incredible, Sam ! »

She slowly closed and reopened her eyes, like in slow motion, and let out a satisfied sigh.

« Thank you, my Love ! »

And as she said this, the African-American girl leaned and tasted his slips, keeping her eyes closed longer this time.

He shut his as well, enjoying the length of the kiss.

When they parted, she grinned even bigger than before as she looked at him intensely.

« Wooooh, the geek is melting away ! » Danny shouted.

« Shut it ! » Chris replied, glaring at him again.

« Come on, guys ! » Sam intervened. « Stop quarelling a bit ! It's Cathy's birthday and we need to make it a joyous day, not a fighting day. Even if I know it's just teasing... »

« Alright ! I say we all come in and have fresh drinks ! Who's in ? » the Rhapsodian proposed.

And soon, the Famous Four entered the house, chatting happily.

/

« Woah ! What a meal that was ! Excellent ! Bravo, Mr Smith ! You cook always better and better, it seems… ! » uttered a replete Danny.

« Thanks for that ! » the white-haired man reacted. « Did you all like it ? »

« Yep ! » confirmed Chris.

« It was delicious, Mr Smith ! » announced Sam.

« You're the best, Grandpa ! » complimented Cathy.

The old man sniggered.

« Well, glad you liked it that much ! »

The pink member then put all present boxes on the table. Her grandfather and friends knew that she never opened her presens immediately, when they were given to her, but preferred to wait until she had all gifts gathered and open them one after the other, in front of everybody.

« So, let's see… Grandpa first ! »

She removed the ribbon and opened the box.

« What's this, Grandpa ? » she asked, holding a tiny bag between her thumb and forefinger.

A cunning grin lit up Hugo Smith's face.

« No idea, really ? »

His granddaughter got thinking.

« Hum… a clue, maybe ? »

« Okay, Schloumba : it has to do with gardening. »

The hyper girl reflected some more and…

« OH ! WAIT ! Could it be… those Thellusson seeds you had promised to offer me, months ago ? »

« Exactly ! »

« Oh, thank you so very much, Grandpa ! » she said, and ran to him for a hug. « I'll be sowing them tonight ! I'm so excited ! »

Danny cleared his throat.

« Hum…could you tell me what are Thellu-stuff seeds ? »

Cathy turned to him.

« Some alien flowers which spit fire, growing on planet Moozy. They are just too beautiful ! »

Danny looked taken aback.

« But aren't they gonna burn your garden ? »

« Not if you educate them properly, Danny ! » Mr Smith said.

« Educate plants ? » the jock wondered, clueless.

« Ah ah, seems that the Danny learned something today ! » mocked Chris.

Danny frowned at his blue-haired friend.

« Well, did _**you**_ know that one could educate plants ? »

« I did. » Chris simply replied.

« Pfff… as if… » the scarred teenager let out, not impressed.

Cathy took another present.

« Hum… This one is Danny's. Let's see… »

But the spiky one stopped her, hand raised.

« NO, Cath' ! Please keep it as last ! »

She stared at him for a few seconds, then shrugged.

« Alright. Hum… Chris's present ! »

She pulled out of the box a strange device and scratched her head.

« Uh ? What is that exactly ? »

« Well, remember when you told me you'd like to be able to reproduce all sounds made by animals when they express themselves ? This small thing can help you to imitate just _any_ noise made by _any_ beast ! »

Cathy's face lit up as she recalled.

« Oh yes, true. Thanks a lot for that, Chris ! »

And she moved to him for another hug.

« It's nothing, really… » the blunette answered, showing his teeth.

Then Cathy came back and picked up the following gift.

« Let's see what you brought me, Sam ! »

And she looked amazed when she found the pink i-pod she had been marvelling at, months ago, when she was window-shopping with her best female friend.

« Ooooooh, you're just too awesome, Sam ! » she shrilled. « Just one of the things I wanted most ! Thank you to no end, Bestie ! »

And she hugged the leader so tightly.

« Eh eh, glad that you like it ! » the latter replied.

« Like ? You kidding me ?! I just L-O-V-E it ! Can't wait to use it ! »

And after an enthusiastic moment related to the i-pod, the stretchable girl finally took hold of Danny's box.

« And now, I'm eager to check out what you bought for me, Honey ! »

She took all her time to unwrap the whole thing, but once it was done…

« Danny… this… this is… absolutely… superb… magnificent… I… don't know what to say… »

She was holding a fine necklace which consisted of a thin chain on which hung a small heart whose center was a ruby.

« But it must have cost you a lot… » Cathy said on a worried tone.

The spiked-hair one looked self-confident.

« Oh, I had been saving plenty of money for years now, so… I had far enough to buy it. Besides, when you love, you don't count, they say, right ? »

The alien was watching the human intensely.

« I have no words, Danny… I… Really, I am so grateful, but I don't know how to put it… »

He showed a huge grin.

« Then don't speak and just put it on. Here, let me help you ! »

He put the necklace on and turned her around to see the result by himself.

« You look terrific, you know that ? »

She walked up to him and gave him a passionate kiss, her arms around his waist. He put his arms around hers and made the kiss last as long as possible.

They finally parted…

… and just then, a signal came from all MBC watches. There was an incoming message at the clubhouse !

They all hurried there, including Mr Smith, and Chris pressed the key commanding the reception channel.

The Commander appeared on the screen.

« Good afternoon, MBC ! It's a pleasure to see you ! And let me wish you a happy birthday, Cathy ! »

The blonde opened her eyes some more.

« You… you remembered my birth date ? »

« I remember the birth dates of _all_ MBC members ! I will send you your present, but not before tonight, for it's… it's not completely ready. Sorry for that ! »

She giggled.

« Oh, it's alright, really ! »

« What can we do for you, Commander ? » asked Sam, now fully ready for action.

He cleared his throat.

« Hum… I haven't called you for a mission, don't worry ! On such a day, it would have been a pity, isn't it ? Actually, I'm with some friends of yours whom I was visiting and who would like to greet you all, and especially Cathy, who they haven't met yet. »

The picture moved back to include a wider view and therefore more people in the frame.

And Sam, Chris and Danny gasped when they saw who was there !

Lauren, Ana, Gianell, Desmira and Mytylys !

« My greetings to you all, Friends ! » started the Queen. « And nice to meet you, Cathy ! My heart beats with sheer happiness to see you safe and healthy again. I'm so glad Sam, Chris and Danny could come back in time to save you ! Please receive my kindest vibrations and my sincere friendship ! It is an honor to get to know you ! »

« Thank you, Your Majesty ! » Cathy replied. « It is an honor as well for me to have the chance to meet such a noble, kind, fair, clever, wise and brave sovereign as you. My friends have told me the nicest things about you, and I couldn't wait to talk to you. I really want to fly to the Light Planet to meet you all in person and thank you for your assistance in saving me. I'm indebted to you for my own life, and I can't thank you enough for that invaluable help you brought my friends in their quest to save me ! »

Lauren bowed.

« It was our pleasure to do so. And we had to thank your friends for also helping to save me and defeat the Dark Lord. This mutual assistance really created strong friendship bonds between us, and we informed the Commander that Beabas would now be allies of humans and be ready to help them no matter the dangers involved. »

« That is an excellent thing ! » Mr Smith reacted. « We are glad to hear that. And be sure humans, or at least the MBC, will be there for you as well ! »

« Thank you, venerable Rhapsodian ! » Ana answered. « We also wanted to inform you that things are for the best here : all Poisoners and Howlers have been killed, Desmira and Mytylys have been revived, as you can see, and Mytylys now is the second Light Colonel together with Desmira, since he had nowhere to go and no more family to link with, Emily got back to her planet safe and Beabas concluded an alliance with Waterians, just like we just did with humans. So as you can see, everything is back to normal ! »

« That's just awesome, Ana ! » the leader exclaimed. « We love to hear that, and especially rejoice to see Desmira and Mytylys back ! We had been so sad when they passed away. And good thing Mytylys can stay to help you ! »

The dotted creature bowed.

« Thank you so much, Sam ! Thank you for your kindness ! And all my gratitude to you all for your helping Beabas to defeat Zythho and bring peace back to this planet. »

Desmira had been whispering something to Gianell, and the General was next to speak.

« My sister wants to formulate her own thanks for your tremendous help in that adventure. We wouldn't have achieved anything without you, and definitely owe you a lot. Thank you once again, MBC ! You are an incredible team ! »

« Thank you as well for assisting us in finding Cathy's shadow and helping us to make it back to Earth ! » Chris declared.

« It really was a pleasure, Friends ! » Lauren told them. « And believe me, it was an honor to be fighting by your side and to become your friends ! It really was ! And will be, whenever we'll fight together again ! »

« We are so grateful to you for everything, Your Majesty ! » Cathy said happily.

Lauren's smile stretched.

« Please don't call me « Your Majesty » anymore. Just call me Lauren. The etiquette and the protocole demand that my subjects call me « Majesty », and also the foreign monarchs. But I've decided to make an exception just for you, since you helped saving my life. You therefore will be the only ones to have permission to call me Lauren. So please do. »

« Are you sure we can, Your M… Hum, I mean, are you sure we can ? » Sam rephrased.

The Light Queen grinned a gentle grin.

« Yes, you can. Please don't hesitate and simply call me by my firstname. You'll get used to it, I'm sure. It's now time for us to leave, but before, I would like to say happy birthday to Cathy, just like the Commander. So happy birthday in the name of all Beabas, Cathy ! »

« Thank you very much ! » the blonde exclaimed. « And I hope everything will go for the best on the Light Planet now. I send you my wishes of prosperity ! And be sure I'll be coming with my friends to meet you in person ! »

Lauren bowed once again.

« Please receive our gratitude for saying so. And you can come whenever you want to Lightis, you'll be welcome ! And before you ask, Lightis is the name we just chose for our planet ! Goodbye, dear Friends, and take care of you all ! My regards to each of you, and may the Gods ensure your all-time protection ! »

« Goodbye, see you soon, and take care ! » Cathy replied, and everyone formulated the same in his/her own way.

« Have a nice day, MBC ! » the Commander said. « And thanks for helping Beabas, and thus enabling our alliance to be forged. Take care of you ! »

And with that, the communication ended.

« Well, I call this great news ! » Sam announced.

« Dashing news, you mean ! It's over with Shadowland now !» Danny retorted.

« Shadowland ? That's the name you had invented for the Dark Planet ? » the brunette questioned.

« Quite so… » the athletic boy said with a wink, which made the black girl smile.

« It's great to know everything is at peace again ! » Chris remarked.

« Yeah, and we hope it'll stay that way for a long time ! » Cathy added.

« MBC, you can be proud of you, once again ! » Mr Smith concluded.

They were all smiling, happy that things were that positive now. Everything in its right place.

And after a silent moment of bliss, the young Rhapsodian spoke up.

« So what do we do now ? I mean, this afternoon ? »

They got thinking for a few seconds, then the tech made a proposal.

« Why not go to the park ? I mean it's sunny and all… it would be such a great time ! »

« You're right, Dude. I'm sure it'll be a nice time ! » the jock approved.

« So say what ? » Sam asked. « Deal ? » She was grinning so warmly.

« YAY ! » uttered Cathy to express their general approval.

« I like it when you're so happy, Cathy ! » Danny said, kissing her cheek and watching her deep in the eyes. « Your happy voice is delicate music to my ears and your eyes shine brighter than a hundred million suns ! »

She giggled and kissed her boyfriend back tenderly.

They all walked out of the clubhouse, then said goodbye to Mr Smith.

« See you later, kids ! Have a great day ! » he told them.

And so, the Famous Four started to walk in the sun-bathed street, heading for the park… the park, where this whole story had begun, if you recall. They were chatting and laughing like there'd be no tomorrow, feeling an intense happiness flood their whole beings.

And behind them, on the pavement, _**FOUR**_ shadows were walking side by side…

_**T H E / E N D**_


	26. Postword

**25 _ POSTWORD**

**A word before we actually start this.**

**A word on last chapter.**

**I also enjoyed that one a lot. Because it means everything is back to normal. And let me tell you this, Folks : it almost feels _strange_ to write about _normality_, sometimes. Because in this precise case, most of the story was a succession of fantastic, magic events, that were very remote from normal. So, since i wrote only about characters possessing fantastic powers, and that the story was set on an alien planet, i had thus lost the habit of writing about normal life, i.e. life on Earth. **

**That's why last chapter was a tad odd : i had lost the habit of writing about normality…**

**But i still like last chappy very much.**

**And now we can begin !**

_**FEELINGS**_

**I started this story on March 21st and end it today, on August 30th. So that's a bit more than five months.**

**And let me tell you that i feel both sad and… say, « peculiar », to be about to put the final dot to that story. I spent so much time on it, so much time with these characters, that i can barely imagine closing that story for good.**

**I put a lot of myself into it, striving to use different words and periphrases to avoid repetitions, checking carefully my text to get rid of typos and absent-minding errors, checking all meanings of the words i was unsure of, to be certain to get the exact meaning. It doesn't seem like that, but lots of efforts were put in SHADOWLAND, and i feel altogether proud and happy about the result. But sad to have to leave it…**

_**THANKS**_

**I'm also happy for all the wonderful reviews : 55 atm, but soon more, i know… which make it the most reviewed new story this year – i checked ! – and one of the three most reviewed since fall 2011, after the updated UNKNOWN LOVE and AM I, YOU ?) – i also checked ! =D How great is that ? Thanxxxx a damn lot for all your support, guys : your endless encouraging words and congrat's really warmed my heart. I wouldn't be where i am now without you. You all ROCK to the maxxxx ! THANXXXX !**

**I'd like to address a special thank you to BLOOD-OF-SILVER, who reviewed ALL my chapters – once again, i checked – and had the most encouraging words ever ! Thanxxxx to the maxxxx, Ana, for being that supportive, and everso glad you enjoyed the story that much. You made my days each time with your great reviews ! Thank you, Girl ! =))**

_**DEDICATIONS**_

**I already said, in the « Foreword » (prior ch. 1) that this story was dedicated to :**

**BeachBabe123**

**Blood-of-Silver**

**Katie Minnie.**

**I'll add a secondary dedication to Cathyrulzforever, who intends to break my words record for this story, which will be around 103'000 words soon (the longest MBC story on FF, by far ! My personal feat, LOL !). I wish her good luck to beat me, coz honestly, it'll be difficult : i mean, the second longest MBC story has around 42'000 words, so…**

_**RATING**_

**I had to change the rating from K+ to T, coz after all, there is violence in it : a girl about to die, some people dying, one speaking of abusing a girl. Nothing much for children, eh ? So it's now a T story.**

_**AMBITION**_

**If i ever have an ambition wz this story, it's to enter the MBC TOP 2012, which is hosted by Katie Minnie. I couldn't take part in the 2009 TOP 20, but really hope to make it for this new TOP 20. I please ask you to vote for my story if you estimate it deserves a place in that new TOP 20. Thanks, Buddies !**

_**ORIGINAL CHARACTERS**_

**I informed you, at some point, that my OC's actually had the real names of my FF friends (their _real_ names, not their usernames, right ?). It's fully correct. Time has come to unveil this all, so that you know who-fictional refers to who-real. Let's go :**

**LAUREN : Lauren is the 123rd Queen of the Beabas, ruling Fic. I'm sure the cunning foxes round here guessed that the one hidden behind her was… BEACHBABE123, which i consider the queen of fic…tion ! My favorite writer, at least, and one of the most gifted i've read from on FF MBC. Hello to ya, Lauren ! And bravo for your great stories, once and forever !**

**ANA : the Chancellor is another major figure of the story. And like was the case with Lauren, it's one of my addressees for the dedications. It's… BLOOD-OF-SILVER, my best reviewer, a great writer and a half-nutty girl who make me laugh each time wz her crazy PM's ! Hi there, Ana ! Thanxxxx 4 the support ! =))**

**GIANELL : she also has an important part to play, notably as strategist, along wz Sam. This girl wasn't originally in my dedications, but i added her in this postword, coz i really loved her own stories. So you've guessed that it is… CATHYRULZ4EVER ! Girl, you left many fans eager for your many stories pending : please write on ! Hello to you, Gianell !**

**DESMIRA : the one who sacrificed her life to save her queen is actually a mix between two of my FF friends, who are… MASTERMINOR (Destiny) and THEDANNYWTF (Marisa, which i used the letters « MIRA » from, and the « S », commonly with Destiny). Destiny is one of my best friends on here with 2 other girls, and Marisa is a great buddy of mine as well. Howdy, Destiny & Marisa !**

**EMILY : she wasn't in my plot initially, but i felt i should include her, in order to have represented… EMMYRULZ4EVER ! And no, she didn't choose her alias in reference to Cathyrulz4ever, although i though so at first. And i made Emily help Beabas and MBC to defeat the Dark Lord, which made her pass from a weak status (the creature used as source of energy) to a strong status (a fighter as determined as the others). Hey, Emily !**

**KATIE : for this character, i used the very same name as the user i wanted to refer to, and which is… KATIE MINNIE ! I ignore her firstname, so i just put Katie as firstname. Her story, UNKNOWN LOVE, is in my top 3, and she's the 3rd main addressee of my dedications. I still wish she would communicate again with me by unblocking me : i did nothing to deserve that, nothing ! So why block me at all ? Because my reviews were too enthusiastic ? Come on, i'm not a maniac, hell ! Anyway, afternoon, Katie !**

**JOSHUA : behind that character is hidden one of the first writers i ever got hooked on, maybe even BeahBabe123 or shortly after, and that is… HAHLI NUVA ! A guy whose stories immediately won my heart. Stories which range from romantic to highly arousing, and honestly, he's the best lemon writer… after me, eh eh ! *jokes* Yo there, Josh !**

**And there they are. I thank them for allowing me to use their names, but since they know i'm a trustworthy and well-balanced person (isn't it, Ana ?), they all know i was reliable and would do nothing wrong with their names.**

**Thank you all, dear buddies, for being my friends and a very cool bunch of mates. I enjoy each of your PMs and am delighted to read your stories. I hope we can stay friends… hum, forever, why not ? =P All my love and care to you all !**

_**PROJECTS**_

**Well, after such an intense and long story as SHADOWLAND, i shall deserve some writing vacation, no ? Well no, not yet. I have a few things to take care of first.**

**Finish the only of my 5 stories still pending, P.E. I was supposed to co-write it with Joshua, but he told me he had lost interest in it. Too bad, especially when i think that _he_ was the one to propose me a common story after enjoying THE GREATEST TIDAL WAVE EVER that much. No hard feelings to him, but honestly, i can't help feeling disappointed. But since i promised myself not to leave ANY story unfinished, I'll carry o with it.**

**And i won't delete it neither. I consider deleting a story as a triple betrayal : betrayal to the audience, to the story itself and to yourself as an author. It's a SHAME to delete a story. It's already frustrating enough to see that many unfinished stories on FF (and most of the time GOOD stories !), so thinking of deleting them… just unforgivable !**

**Revise TGTWE, which is one story in… one chapter only ! I know some didn't read it coz they were desperate that it wasn't cut into chapters, making it pretty difficult to read in one shot or find where they had remained in the story by scrolling down the whole story… not practical, eh ! So i'll slice up that story into chapters, and make it thus easier to read, with a possibility to stop between chappies. Thank who ? =P**

**I had promised to BoS, long ago, to make her read my poems. I've been busy since then with my stories. But i intend to do that right after the two above, and link her to the site where i publish those poems. A little more patience, Ana, juuuust a little more !**

**And only next will i begin my new story, which will be a realist drama. Therefore pretty remote from SHADOWLAND. But then again, i love changing genres regularly : none of my stories are strictly identical, if you analyze them carefully. So, back to reality, back to Singletown… Just wait to find out the topic of this new one, eh eh !**

_**SEQUEL**_

**Ah, one last thing before taking my leave : one of you has expressed her will to write a sequel to SHADOWLAND, naturally giving me credit for the original work and OC's in her foreword to that sequel. I agreed to that, and she let me know that she may begin the story after finishing her current one.**

**So you will have another story on the same topic, possibly with all the same characters as in SL, i dunno. So if you liked my story, i strongly suggest you check out her own production this year. And if you want to know WHO it is, well… easy breezy : she's the greatest fan of SHADOWLAND ! Need no more clues, right ? XD**

_**HEROES**_

**There it is. Time to say goodbye to all of you, Friends. But not before handing the mike over to some people, who have something to say :**

**CATHY : why didn't you make me part of your story ?**

**ME : But don't you forget that the whole « _raison d'être_ » of the story is YOU, your life, your shadow. It's you who made he story exist, Cath' !**

**CATHY : Oh ! Yes, you're right ! Hadn't thought of that…**

**SAM : And thanks a lot for giving me that much importance in the story !**

**ME : Anytime, Sammy ! Don't forget you're my fav' with Cathy. And you're so beautiful…**

**SAM : *blushes***

**CHRIS : Hey !**

**ME : Sorry, i… was daydreaming…**

**CHRIS : *grumbles* Anyway, thanks for making me healthy again after i was got by Poisoners' darts.**

**ME : You're very welcome, little Genius !**

**CHRIS : *beams* Okay, i forgive you for before !**

**DANNY : And thanks for giving me such an important part in the beginning and end of your story, which are the most important parts of a fiction.**

**ME : It was nothing, really, Man !**

**DANNY : Ah no, i disagree : it was SOMETHING ! So thanks again !**

**ME : Okay then. My pleasure.**

**ALL TOGETHER : And all our gratitude for making us pair in couples ! We promise to love each other all our life ! Thank you, Leo !**

**ME : *blushes* My turn, i guess… *turns around so no one can see him blush***

_**GOODBYE**_

**Well, time for the REAL goodbye now. **

**Thank you so much everyone to bother reading this dead long story. Thank you for your reviews and kind words and encouragements. Thank you for liking my work. Thank you for being awesome friends. Thank you for writing to me that regularly. **

**Thank you once and forever !**

**I wish you best of luck with your stories, which i love to read, and best of luck in your personal lives. Take good care of ya and never forget to LOOK UP and to SMILE. Life is worth living, you know. Never give up ! And believe in yourself, always !**

**Goodbye, dear Friends, and see you soon…**

**BE HAPPY !**

**Peace, Love, Ecstasy + Hugs and smiles !**

**And long live (British) rock music and (French) electronic music !**

**XXXX**

*****LEO*****


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